5.21.19 by Ryan Masteller

I’m a Fritch, but with an “s,” so: Fritsch. That’s my mother’s side. I’m also a Ryan, spelled the same way, so: Ryan. William Ryan Fritch is Vieo Abiungo … I got nothing there. He’s a singular dude when we get to that part.

Fritch is also a film composer and singer/songwriter, but his Vieo Abiungo guise is a different thing, an animal whose appetites are as omnivorous as they are adventurous. Drawing from West African traditions – dense polyrhythms, Tuareg influence, timbral suggestions to instruments such as the oud – Fritch weaves careful yet playful sonic tapestries, staking his own claim within this genre and solidifying a mastery over the elements at his disposal. Every moment on “The Dregs” is saturated with emotional resonance or technical prowess, often both at the same time, because that’s how GOOD MUSICIANS DO IT. God, Kyle. (Kyle’s my brother.)

And just because “The Dregs” is titled like the contents are scraped from the bottom of a barrel, like the tunes are leftover experiments laying around on a forgotten hard drive, doesn’t mean that they’re second rate in any way. I think I’ve already made it pretty clear that they’re not. For me, Vieo Abiungo is crafting a new language, a distinct folklore with many antecedents but a fascinating new direction. Fritch’s arrangements on “The Dregs” are dense and forward-looking, rich and invigorating, much like Sufjan Stevens’s when he took us all in a new folk direction in the 2000s (although Fritch eschews vocals for his Vieo Abiungo work). If we pay attention, we may find a new mythology unfolding in “The Dregs” whose throughline we may need to follow until its bitter/glorious end. I’m onboard. How about you?

Available from Lost Tribe Sound in an edition of 100. Pro-dubbed High-Bias audio cassette housed in a reverse print 300gsm heavy board stock case, hand-numbered.