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It’s 10pm on Sunday and Utility Fog – the weekly three hour radio program on Sydney’s FBI devoted to all that teeters on the cusp between acoustic and electronic, organic and digital – has just begun. Tonight the Utility driver, Peter Hollo, takes us from the realm of “cute and bouncy” indie dubstep, into the softer, ambient post-classical domain; squeezing in some Moroccan ethnomused influenced production along the way. After a small set of ambient tipped compositions embracing string arrangements, Hollo brings our attention to a cello line meandering through one particular track – an instrument close to his heart, he says, for this instrument is his instrument as well.
As a cellist, Peter Hollo is one piece of Fourplay, the electric string quartet most popularly known for their energised and musical string interpretations of songs like, 2+2=5 by Radiohead; The Strokes’ Reptilia and Buckley’s Grace. This week, Fourplay perform three themed shows at the Opera House as part of the Studio Sessions; The first will be rock and pop inspired, the second, Jazz, blues and world, and the third, post-rock, electronica, neo-folk, dubstep and hip-hop. No prizes for guessing the influence shaping the final show.
Peter Hollo was excited about the opportunity of covering some of his favourite electronic artists, however, interpreting melodies largely driven by drum programming proved more difficult than what he had initially conceived.
“I’ve had ideas in my head for ages that we could try and do some kind of Squarepusher or Aphex Twin meets neoclassical meets drum and base, or whatever, but it’s really hard to play a four minute piece of complex drum and base patterns on the viola. We have to accommodate for the way strings work so there’s more melodic elements, harmonies, chord pads and stuff in there.’
After absorbing a lot of music and jamming extensively with looping pedals and effects, the result with the electronic material has been more original compositions than covers, but not exclusively so; Fourplay have been working on interpreting Rage Against the Machines’ feisty rap.
As the themed Studio shows indicate, Fourplay’s musicality is stretched in many directions. On paper, the musical proficiency of these four individuals is intimidating – Fourplay spawn would grow into the freakish kind of child protégé that could play three instruments, string of course, ambidextrously before learning to walk or be able to pizz., note for note, an Aphex Twin track. But what is more impressive than their musical aptitude is how each member’s love of music has been expressed in other areas of their lives. The common thread running through these independent manifestations is a commitment to expanding the scope and depth of people’s musical experiences.
For instance, Shenzo Gregorio, viola and vocals in Fourplay, hangs musicians from wires in his circus inspired Electric Stunt Orchestra; Lara Goodridge, violin and vocals, runs her own record label called Craving Records, which is focused on supporting local female singers and songwriters; Peter’s brother, Tim Hollo, viola and vocals, has been heavily involved in theatre and has provided musical direction for numerous shows, and Peter Hollo, as well as sharing his love for electronic hybridisation on Utility Fog, plays cello by day, and by night, skulks around as Raven writing his own electronic music compositions.
One of the best parts about playing with a group of people with such varied music knowledge and appreciation, says Hollo, is playing material he might not have otherwise been exposed too. It is through Chenzo, for example, that Hollo really experienced the legendary jazz composer, Charles Mingus, which he says was a revelation.
Surely such varied taste in music would result in some conflict of interest?
“I have really broad tastes but I have fairly definite tastes and there’s probably certain things which I just can’t face,” says Hollo. And apparently this goes both ways, his suggestion of doing a Severed Heads song didn’t get an immediate response from the group but he likes to think the idea hasn’t necessarily been vetoed rather “put on the back burner.”
As a solo electronic music producer, playing in a band, full stop, is really exciting. “You get to bounce ideas off three other people and you get to jam together a lot,” Hollo says. Not to say he doesn’t enjoy the challenge of the DIY approach to electronic production. While Hollo has command over the cello and knows how to do what he wants to do on it – he has been playing the instrument since he was eight – with electronic music Hollo is, in some respect, still the novice.
“I still feel with my own electronic music I’ve got a lot to learn and as a fan of that kind of music it can be frustrating. At the moment, for instance, I don’t really know how to produce the fantastic base lines that those producers make -I know how to write the lines but I don’t know how to create the sound.”
Digital Manipulation, Fourplay’s double remix album released in 2001, was another opportunity for Hollo to bring together his enthusiasm for electronic music and cello. The album featured remixes by 25 electronic artists from across Australian. While loving all the remixes and being hesitant to pull out favourites, Hollo does mention getting David Thrussell on board was exciting because he had been a fan for so long. So, who is at the top of Hollo’s remix hit list now?
“Hrvatski, The Books, Tunng, and it would be really great to get Fourtet, he’s a prolific remixer,’ says Hollo.
Post Studio Sessions, 2007 will continue to be a big year for the members of Fourplay, in all their worldly pursuits. While the release of another album is on the cards, gigging will be a little disrupted until after the federal election as Tim Hollo will be kept busy in the role of Communications Officer for the climate change campaign for Greenpeace. Just another string in the bow.
www.sydneyoperahouse.com/thestudio
