Disc 1 Tracks:
Disc 2 Tracks:
and, you can stream it on youtube:
MORE INFO & CREDITS:
2005 – Jouissance
The original idea for Jouissance was to use sex as a metaphor for discussing art and creativity more broadly. I wanted to explore all aspects of this topic, from the frenetic energy of the flash of inspiration, to the ways in which art/sex has been commodified; a key theme was cliches and the ways they tend to present paths of automatic expression. And yet, as the writing process progressed an unexpected element crept in; amongst the songs on the planned topics, I also began to write a lot of straight-ahead non-metaphorical love songs. This was totally unplanned and it took us into uncharted territory. It put us out of our usual comfort zone, which is always a good thing, so we pushed it further. The result is an album that covers the planned territory, but has an added breadth and depth, and far more complexity. People who were familiar with our past work were surprised by the resulting album. I remember a friend remarking: “I would never have thought you two would have made an album like this.” …always a good reaction for us.
Sonically we were pushing into new territory as well. Every Dumbass album tends to sound different because the music is always written to express the ideas we are exploring within the confines of each album’s guiding concept or subject matter. The idea comes first and the music serves the idea.
With Jouissance, we wanted the album to have a very organic and unpolished feel. We wanted it to sound like a band playing in a barn. It had never come out in our music before this, but both Fixer and myself have always been fans of artists like Neil Young and The Band, and we channeled a lot of that with this album. Though it’s just the two of us playing the music we wanted it to feel as live as possible, so there are no edits at all, just long takes. There is also very little processing (a bit of reverb and some very light eq here and there). We sculpted the sonic palette outside of the box while recording (with mic-placement, and so on) and used the computer as a simple recorder.
The vast majority of the songs were also written on a guitar, rather than on a keyboard, which wasn’t something I’d done since the late 90s. I think this album has some of my favourite guitar-based dumbass songs we’ve ever done. Fixer played a lot of organ on this album (he is a genius on it), along with guitar, saxophone, bass and violin. My one regret with this album is that we didn’t record more saxophone, but then it might not have fit into more songs. Fixer always seems to know when a song has enough elements better than I; the various songs for which he is credited for “abstinence” — besides being a bit of word-play in regard to the album’s theme — attest to this.
Each disc of the album has a different feel and flow. We really wanted each to feel like a distinctive side of the album. Fixer, as usual, was instrumental here (he generally plays the main role in sequencing our albums). The first disc opens with a suite of bombastic love-songs and then takes the listener on a journey through all manner of roots-y rock and even folky moments, while the second disc takes the listener into more experimental territory, stretching the sonic framework and vocabulary we’ve established into more abstract directions.
It was an album where we pushed ourselves into very unfamiliar musical territory, which is generally a good thing for us.
Tracks:
Disc 1:
01 EverythingZM: vocals, guitars, drums, percussion, bass, hand claps, pianoFixer: organ, hand claps
02 It’s timeZM: vocals, guitars, drums, harmonica, bassFixer: organ
03 PheromonesZM: vocals, guitars, drums, bass, harmonicaFixer: abstinence
04 Summer evening rainZM: vocals, guitar, hand clapsFixer: abstinence
05 SheZM: vocals, guitars, drums, bassFixer: organ
06 Deep eyesZM: vocals, drums, piano, bass, guitars, slide guitarFixer: slide guitar
07 Some kind of dreamZM: vocals, drums, piano, bassFixer: Guitars08 Minds made up in timeZM: vocals, guitarFixer: abstinence
09 These things I wonder notZM: vocals, guitars, drums, percussionFixer, guitars, saxophone
10 TonightZM: vocals, guitars, drums, bass, fireworkFixer: wah-organ
11 Give & take in the extremeZM: vocals, guitars, drums, bassFixer: Saxophone
12 Miss captivatingZM: vocals, piano, drums, guitars, bassFixer: organ
13 In the deep dark nightZM: vocals, drums, recorder, bassFixer: guitars, electric motor
14 All the things you areZM: vocals, bass, drumsFixer: abstinence
15 ProximityZM: vocals, chord organFixer: abstinence
16 BreathingZM: vocals, piano, percussion, camera, bassFixer: abstinence
17 PlacereZM: Vocals, guitars, drums, book, percussionFixer: bass
18 Sex is a commodityZM: vocals, guitars, drums, bassFixer: abstinence
19 AfterglowZM: vocals, guitar, harmonicaFixer: abstinence
Disc 2
01 Holistic beingZM: vocals, drums, pianoFixer: guitars
02 Halt mich festZM: vocals, drums, organFixer: guitars
03 Holding handsZM: vocals, drums, bassFixer: bass, guitars, violin
04 Du bist duZM: vocals, guitar, percussionFixer: abstinence
05 5am (falling for you)ZM: vocals, guitar, harmonicaFixer: abstinence
06 A fortioriZM: vocals, chord organ, guitarFixer: abstience
07 1,2,3,4…ZM: vocals, guitar, percussionFixer: abstinence
08 Frenzy & flashbulbsZM: vocals, percussion, guitarFixer: guitars
09 What do we want?ZM: vocals, guitars, voltage, organ, percussionFixer: abstinence
10: That’s rightZM: vocals, guitar, percussion, bookFixer: abstinence
11 Now ZM: vocals, percussion, bassFixer: guitars
12 Sex in wordsZM: vocals, guitarFixer: abstinence
