11
Back in 2015, Michael Chapman released Fish (reviewed here by Nick Dellar), a record of guitar instrumentals that he intended to revisit with Another Fish, a project that was sadly unfinished when he died in 2021. Since then, Michael’s widow Andru has discovered the wonderful music of Australian banjoist and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Tuttle, particularly his 2022 Fleeting Adventure album, one of my very favourites. The pair met in Brisbane to discuss a fascinating project, something of an abstract covers album, where Andrew reinterprets Michael’s Another Fish tunes and puts them alongside the original compositions. And thus we have Another Tide, Another Fish.
As the liner notes tell us, Another Fish is a pure Michael Chapman solo album, with him playing multiple guitars and adding effects. In keeping with this simplicity, Andrew has mirrored the approach for Another Tide, with just his banjo, edits and effects present. As with the beautifully clear album artwork and fonts, the decision to keep this solo aspect gives the double album symmetry and cohesion (seven Tuttle songs and seven Chapman, each set clocking thirty-three minutes, adds to this).
It takes a very creative musician to be able to make this project work, but Andrew has proven himself just that over several albums of original material, plus numerous collaborations. His music is unhurried and perfectly blends improvised structures with composition, something he does wonderfully here while keeping one eye on Michael’s songs. What is noticeable on Another Fish, however, is that Michael’s playing style lends itself well to Andrew’s own, with his music woozy in places and cyclical in nature. Just listen to Untitled #3; its unhurried, drawn out melodies could easily be mistaken for Andrew’s music.
But what becomes clear when listening to both albums separately is that although Andrew listened to and played along with Michael’s songs before recording his own, his interpretation of Another Fish is loose, making Another Tide very much an album in its own right. That’s not to say there aren’t similarities; just listen to the repetitive structure of Michael’s Untitled #2 after Andrew’s Five and Twenty Days for Lunch, and you’ll see that the ghosts of the songs are there in Andrew’s work, it’s just that close comparison is hardly necessary; it’s best to enjoy each album for its own merits.
Andrew takes care to capture the spirit of Michael’s album while approaching the songs from the position of improviser, therefore balancing Michael’s music with a looser structure. Wholly Unrelated to Four Seasons is a decent enough example, with Andrew layering noodles of banjo licks with electronic shimmers to get a complex, broad-sounding hazy texture. This freedom of expression feels appropriate when considering the fact that Michael wasn’t done with the songs on Another Fish and wanted to take them further, meaning that the finished article doesn’t exist and is very much open to interpretation.
Andrew’s Another Tide is a far more minimalist album than Fleeting Adventure, with his manipulated banjo the only instrument present (in fact, Daniel Bachman’s When the Roses Come Again springs to mind in places, like on Amidst a Half Dozen Saplings), but no less effective for that. The sound is pure and liberated; just listen to the elastic sound of At Seventy-Three Miles, with harmonics and the briefest of chords and notes beneath a soft electronic cloud. It shows a player and engineer comfortable in his own skin, respecting his subject matter and putting an original stamp on it. Another Tide is an intelligent, intuitive album that demonstrates the inquisitive nature of this highly creative musician while retaining the spirit of the late great Michael Chapman’s previously unreleased album. And Another Fish, although considered unfinished, feels complete and shows Michael’s subtle psychedelic music at its best.
Another Tide, Another Fish (13th September 2024) Basin Rock
Order: https://andrewtuttle.bandcamp.com/album/another-tide-another-fish
