Ravello Records proudly presents MUSIC FOR GUITAR AND ELECTRONICS, an album of original works for guitar from composer Mike Frengel. The collection spans 20 years of Frengel’s creative output and features unconventional guitar tunings, instrumental preparations, and virtuosic performances.
Today, Mike is our featured artist in “The Inside Story,” a blog series exploring the inner workings and personalities of our composers and performers. Read on to discover how his unorthodox use of the guitar led him to writing his book…
Who were your first favorite artists growing up?
Elvis Costello, XTC, or Frank Zappa (they sort of all came together)
When did you realize that you wanted to be an artist?
I grew up in a musical family and began playing the guitar at 8 years old. It largely defined my identity growing up, so I don’t really remember a time when I didn’t want to be a musician.
If you could make a living at any job in the world, what would that job be?
Playing music, of course! But I feel extremely fortunate to be able to teach music, and in fact, I think it helps me to stay in touch with current musical movements, history, and so on. I think I’m still too young to retreat to my own musical bubble.
If you could spend creative time anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
In a beautiful, secluded, wooded, shady place. A campsite near a small stream would be perfect, although I may need electricity!
If you could instantly have expertise performing one instrument, what instrument would that be?
Clarinet/Sax
What does this album mean to you personally?
For 20+ years I have been working with the guitar in unusual ways, both as a composer and performer. This led me to publish a book titled The Unorthodox Guitar: A Guide To Alternative Performance Practice (2017, Oxford University Press). This album represents the musical output of these investigations and the implementation of many of the ideas that I discuss in the book.
Mike Frengel is an internationally recognized composer, performer, researcher, and educator. Born in Mountain View, California, Mike graduated with a B.A. in electroacoustic music from San Jose State University in 1995, where he studied composition and sound production with Allen Strange and Dan Wyman. He spent another three years in the San Francisco Bay Area working at Apple Computers Inc. as well as remaining affiliated with the C.R.E.A.M. Studios at SJSU as a Research Scientist. Mike completed his M.A. in electroacoustic music composition at the Bregman Studios at Dartmouth College in 1999 under the tutelage of Jon Appleton, Charles Dodge, Larry Polansky, and Christian Wolff. He completed his Ph.D. at City University, London, where he studied composition with Denis Smalley.