Overview
“Endless Summer“ is the third studio album by Fennesz (birth name: Christian Fennesz), an Austrian guitarist and electronic musician born in 1962.
Background of the Production
Fennesz had worked as a member of Austrian experimental rock band Maische in the 1980s.
In the 1990s, he became known for his electronic music using an electric guitar processed with a laptop computer.
Commentary
The album “Endless Summer“ was recorded with very limited equipment, consisting of a laptop computer, one Shure SM57 microphone, a few guitars, and a few pedals.
It was released by Mego, an independent record label based in Vienna, Austria, in 2001.
The album is renowned as one of the masterpieces in the genres of electroacoustic music and electronica.
Fennesz received widespread recognition after releasing this for his album.
The album is an experimental electroacoustic work including various noises such as glitch, white noise and CD skip, electronic sounds, and computer-processed guitar sounds. However, it is also an album of lyrical and beautiful ambient music/folktronica.
Its comfortable sound evokes senses of melancholy and nostalgia, like reminiscences of summer days gone by.
The 2001 original album contains eight tracks.
The 2006 remastered edition includes two bonus tracks (the Japanese edition released by P-Vine Records includes four bonus tracks).
In 2017, American online music magazine “Pitchfork” ranked this album number 22 on their “The 50 Best Ambient Albums of All Time“ list.
Track Listing
2001 original
- Made in Hong Kong – 4:22
- Endless Summer – 8:35
- A Year in a Minute – 6:01
- Caecilia – 3:53
- Got to Move On – 3:48
- Shisheido – 2:58
- Before I Leave – 4:06
- Happy Audio – 10:55
2006 reissue bonus tracks
- Badminton Girl – 4:06
- Endless– 2:01