Back in March I listed the ten best “outsider” records I was then-currently enjoying. One of them was called Great Fences Of Australia. Two violinists, Jon Rose and Hollis Taylor, wandered the Australian outback and bowed various fences — of which there thousands — which run endlessly in all directions. The string musicians playing fences create huge epic drones that at times are so shrill they sound like insane ray guns. The whole spectrum of sound is unreal — crazy harmonics that sound like throat singing.
Last week I was searching the web for who the hell knows what, and I came across a documentary detailing the great fences of Australia, the violinists who play them, and the lives and histories of the people who build, look after or use the fences. As soon as I saw the first shot of Jon Rose clad in a bee mask, utilizing two bows to create an amazing series of sounds, I was hooked. In less than a minute, we are shown how the fences can act as resonators, triggers, and the largest fucking stringed instruments you’ve ever seen. And there’s still about 75 minutes of film left!
There isn’t much (if any) dialog. The entire continent of Australia is responsible for the sounds you hear throughout the documentary. It’s remarkable and trance-inducing. I kinda zoned out a few times throughout the course of watching the film, but I take that to be a good thing. At least there’s a consistent point to the thing. Not like the other night, when I watched Project Grizzly and after 72 minutes of exposition absolutely nothing happened. That was bullshit. Great Fences of Australia doesn’t need to describe anything in great depth to make its point, the sounds are all there for you to experience.
There really isn’t much else I can say about the documentary. Most of it is beautiful scenes from the outback, and footage of the pair bowing various fences. Two of the most recognizable ones to natives are the “Dog Fence” and “Rabbit-Proof Fence.” I’m not a native, so I have no idea about why they are well-known. Maybe it’s because they’re really long? I don’t know.
That said, you can read more about Jon Rose and the fences project by visiting his official website, and you can download the movie in its entirety by clicking here. Note: the film is hosted on a personal website; that link does not go to a file delivery service.
Jon Rose & Hollis Taylor – Electric Fence (from the album Great Fences Of Australia)
