Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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$10USD or more
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Starfruit's sophomore album, their first on 12" vinyl - pressed on heavyweight black 180g vinyl, in a jacket made of recycled cardboard, with polylined inner-sleeve.
Includes unlimited streaming of Be Begin Beginning Begging
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
In the wake of the cancellation of their first national tour in support of their first album in Spring of 2020, Starfruit founder and leader Ava W Boehme used her reserves of energy to write and orchestrate Starfruit’s sophomore LP - Be Begin Beginning Begging. The title reflects a perpetual churning of growing and becoming, without ever arriving - signified by the painting of a swallowtail butterfly by artist Jamie Lerman on the album’s cover.
Be Begin Beginning Begging serves as a total vision of Starfruit’s prowess. Packing the hard hitting weight of Black Sabbath (or Led Zeppelin, another favorite gender) with a frilly majesty reminiscent of Kate Bush’s early albums, repeated rhythmic patterns that are at first alien and challenging become hypnotic and cathartic. Boehme’s voice soars at the top of angular rhythmic sculptures with emotive Joplin-esque rawness and belting resonance like a trans Rob Halford. The high vocal harmonies merging with Boehme’s are from the pipes of operatically trained vocalist, Michelle Mackey.
The album’s 13 tracks are punctuated by lush ambient interludes, featuring saxophonist Garrett Wingfield’s granulated saxophone, manipulated by Wingfield in the synthesis software, Max MSP - a process Boehme dubbed “Sax MSP.” The album is expertly sequenced, providing the listener with valleys of reprieve and jolts of loudness - 48 minutes woven in a hyperbolic time chamber. Somewhere between the rich textures and bombastic drums lies a spirit of resilience and ecstasy.
credits
released November 11, 2023
Ava W Boehme - vocals, drums, piano, synth, guitar, aux percussion, chord organ, autoharp, pitched melodica
Michelle Mackey - vocals
Nathan Fenner - bass, synth, vocals
Mills Chaiken - guitar, piano, synth, mandolin, aux percussion, vocals
Nigel Newton - piano, mallets, pipe organ, rhodes, aux percussion
Garrett Wingfield - saxophone, sax MSP
Chris Holmes - drums
Leoncarlo Canlas - violin
Thoele Sarradet - spoken voice
written and directed by Ava W Boehme
+ lyrics to "Zip Zap" co-written by Lauren Belmore
+ many individual words for "Stacking" submitted by many individuals online one night in March 2020
+ the title "Death Was The Final Blow" is a fragment of a line from Anne Garréta's novel, Sphinx
+ the title "Therem" is the first name of a character from Ursula K. Le Guin's novel, The Left Hand Of Darkness
recorded by Justin Lemons at Infinite Ohm, Denton, Texas, with additional recording elsewhere
mixed by Justin Lemons, Ava W Boehme and Nathan Fenner at Infinite Ohm, with assistance from Dave Huff and Mills Chaiken
mastered by Matthew Barnhart
bird recording by Alex Curington
front cover painting and border by Jamie Lerman
Starfruit glyphs by Ava W Boehme
back cover photo by Ari Ashe
back cover text/layout by Alex Souris
vinyl labels by Kaila Rose Parrish
supported by 4 fans who also own “Be Begin Beginning Begging”
I enjoyed Deerhoof's music for many years before this came out, but this album turned me into a Deerhoof superfan. This is an absolutely incredible set of songs from beginning to end. The individual tracks are great, but they all add up to make a powerful overall statement. Listening to this album is such a cathartic experience every time. jgregorsok
Artful outsider post-pop with a lot of noise and a touch of jangle from one of Denver’s most forward-thinking musical projects. Bandcamp New & Notable Nov 4, 2016