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Be Begin Beginning Begging

by Starfruit

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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $10 USD  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.
    ships out within 5 days
    edition of 300 

      $25 USD or more 

     

1.
34 Rampet 04:01
2.
Stacking 02:30
3.
4.
5.
6.
A Tall Tree 04:25
7.
8.
Cat Dream 03:45
9.
10.
11.
Zip Zap 03:36
12.
Therem 04:37
13.

about

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

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Starfruit Dallas, Texas

entity/ensemble formed in 2016 by Ava W Boehme

booking: starfruitohyeah@gmail.com

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