Andrew Tuttle - Fleeting Adventure (2022)

Some may find it hard to conceive of the banjo as a touchstone to ambient music, yet in the hands of Andrew Tuttle, those five strings have less to do with hoedowns than they do with constructing music 180 degrees away from that world. Fleeting Adventure is more undulating and atmospheric than the rolling and droning tunes from the Appalachians. Tuttle has crafted a framework where the banjo can explore songs and styles that have little to do with tradition and more to do with contemporary expression.

Over a minute of synthesised sound opens “Overnight’s A Weekend” establishes that ‘we’re not in Kansas anymore,’ as Dorothy would say. This is a world of limitless possibilities where the sounds of the banjo seem familiar, yet the surroundings are surprisingly different. Steve Gunn offers electric guitar fills, coaxing out gentle, heavenly tones, while Aurelie Ferriere’s violin and the saxophone of Joe Saxby paint pliant pictures of a weekend that one might never want to end.

“Next Week, Pending” combines the banjo and guitar playing of Tuttle in a framework that seems closer to the world of traditional folk. Yet, the initial strains offer synths that continue to challenge listeners to find new ways to consider what it means to play the banjo. Tuttle’s ability to transcend the commonplace by conceiving new contexts was at least partially the result of his musical compatriots and their influences from afar.

From the relative freedom of Australia and more confined settings around the globe, Tuttle sent out tracks to a variety of friends and acquaintances. “I gave everyone a really free brief. If it was a guitar-led track, I’d say, ‘Do what you want, then send it back. I’ll keep some of it, and we’ll go from there.’ That made it really interesting for me, because I wasn’t sure what I was getting back. I didn’t know what instrumentation they’d provide or what song they would play on.”

The results resonate in ways creating new configurations and causalities that kept the recordings fresh. While it may not be initially obvious, Tuttle had spent a of time listening to Tuareg bands and North African guitar sounds. “New Breakfast Habit,” while not perhaps an obvious choice for a Weetabix commercial, has some intriguing pedal steel possibilities from Luke Schneider that brighten the palate, taking both the banjo and the pedal steel into areas not often considered for those instruments.

Painting with colours few have considered for the banjo, Andrew Tuttle has again illustrated that the only thing constraining music for the banjo is our own sense of what is considered acceptable. Breaking down the barriers, Tuttle explores what it means to be a banjo player in the 21st century. While it may be conceived of as a Fleeting Adventure, the work of Andrew Tuttle is rapidly exploring alternate dimensions in the art and craft of the banjo as an instrument.