Before they were a band, they were a couple. And before they
were a complete band, they toured Europe. It might not be the proper
order of things, but for Tu Fawning there is no correct way to do this,
seeing as the band’s foundation has been around the block—and in
the van—long enough to know that little good comes from putting
too much faith in the traditional structure of independent music. The
band, Joe Haege (31Knots) and his better half, Corrina Repp, started up
last year, traversed the globe, doubled in size, and now are prepared
to release a flawless debut EP entitled Secession.
Following their rapid ascent, the European tour fell off the rails
due to poor booking, and the band decided that there was no better time
than an overseas trip gone awry to focus on their internal
structure.
Says Repp, “During our long drives during the day we started
planning this band in our head that didn’t exist. ‘What if Liza [Rietz]
played violin on that song, and Toussaint [Perrault] could play
trumpet?’ We emailed them from the road and they both said yes.”
The addition of Rietz (Swords) and Perrault has fleshed out the
once-sparse Tu Fawning sound. As a quartet their decadently assembled
sleepwalking ballads sound as they were intended—stylistically
morose, painstakingly enduring, and utterly gorgeous. It’s a haunting
recording of deliberate keyboards, patient drums, and the drawn-out,
rich voice of Repp. All that’s missing from this ghostly ensemble is
the floating candelabra and the walls that bleed.
Primarily known as a heart-on-her-sleeve singer/songwriter, Repp’s
voice has undergone a vast transition in her new role. Gone are the
hushed whispers of introspective, emotive songs structured around
strummed guitar or caressed piano. Here, Repp has honed her vibrant
voice to belt out peaking crescendos with dramatic flair, making it the
most prominent highlight of Tu Fawning’s tempered music. The patience
on Secession is due in part to the deliberate delay in birthing
the project; the real-life couple of Haege and Repp waited years before
actually writing music together.
According to Repp, “We’re both used to steering the ship, but it
wouldn’t have worked if we did it right away.”