Blindness by Fred Abong

American alternative crooner Fred Abong (Throwing Muses, Belly) is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He grew up in the US - Northeast, has lived in Southern California, and is currently calling New Orleans home.
Slightly off-kilter songs, existential, spiritual, romantic, and poetic in their focus, detuned guitars, unconventional song structures, and a raw and unpolished production aesthetic characterize Fred’s overall sound. A hypnotic, sometimes gravelly, voice adds to the effect.
As one reviewer of Fred’s work has put it:
“There are artists who we say have a particular sound and then there are artists who, upon listening to their music, are so unique that there is no possible way that their music could be mistaken as being performed by anyone other than them. In the case of singer-songwriter Fred Abong, the latter case is certainly true.” (Amplify Music)

Fred’s music has drawn comparisons to Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, Elliot Smith, Nick Drake, The Velvet Underground, Jeff Buckley, Nirvana, Joe Strummer, and Guided By Voices...

BLINDNESS - Note
I love to play the drums and do so whenever I can. It's music-making with full body engagement, just as it is with singing, which I also love. Piano is the midpoint between these two, and though I never played piano before making this record, I had an inkling that writing on the piano might help me open up or access a compositional and emotional space that was not available to me through the guitar. And that's basically what happened. Though I experimented with and deployed a boatload of digital sounds on the record, the central act of writing by banging on note-producing keys seemed to put me in a realm where timeless songs of the heart and soul reside. It must have something to do with the piano's unique 'platypus' identity as both a percussion and melodic instrument. It encompasses the entire musical spectrum. In any case, it was great fun and I'm glad I gave it a go. I hope you are, too. Cheers


American alternative crooner Fred Abong (Throwing Muses, Belly) gets experimental on new 'Blindness' LP

FOR FANS OF: Elliot Smith, Leonard Cohen, Kristin Hersh, The Replacements, Bob Dylan, Velvet Underground, Nirvana, Joe Strummer, Guided By Voices
FOCUS TRACKS: Blindness, The Dam, Heaven, Listening, Paint Me, Hector
FCC clean

“There are artists who we say have a particular sound and then there are artists who … are so unique that there is no possible way that their music could be mistaken as being performed by anyone other than them. In the case of singer-songwriter Fred Abong , the latter case is certainly true” ~ Amplify Magazine

"Fred Abong’s latest album, Fear Pageant … isn’t one of those albums with a couple of singles and a whole load of filler, this is one of those full bodied albums, a proper album of songs that works as one whole thing, an album that feels like one time and place in the life of an artist, a real old school album you might say” ~ The Organ

“Abong’s vocal delivery is a testament to his storytelling prowess. His voice carries the weight of experience, each phrase brimming with authenticity and emotion ... It’s a reminder that music is not just about entertainment, but about connecting on a profound level with the emotions that make us human” ~ Skylight Webzine

“Beautifully raw, uncluttered and quite cinematic... Melodically infectious and lyrically mysterious ~ Newport Naked

“An almost painful intimacy to his words despite the oblique phrasing and imagery he conjures” ~ Isolation Records

“Purity and honesty in his approach that gets more and more intense with each track... like you’re riding a wave of energy” ~ Higher Plain Music

New Orleans-based alternative folk-rock artist Fred Abong presents his latest 'Blindness' releasing 9 May 2023 via Moochin' About This is Abong's eighth long-player to date.

Fred Abong got his musical start in the 1980’s on the Rhode Island hardcore punk scene. In the early 1990s, he played bass for Throwing Muses and then Belly. Putting music on hold for academic pursuits, he then earned a PhD in Humanities and taught at various universities for eight years before returning to music. Now back as a solo artist, Abong also plays bass in the Kristin Hersh Electric Trio.

A Filipino-American singer-songwriter, Abong's music has a raw and unpolished production aesthetic with an overall direct, though deceptively imaginative and oblique, presentation. Abong has also been a practicing Vedic astrologer for the past 20 plus years.

CD1
Blindness Note:

“I love to play the drums and do so whenever I can. It's music-making with full body engagement, just as it is with singing, which I also love. Piano is kind of the midpoint between these two instruments. And though I never played piano before making this record, I had an inkling that writing on the piano might help me open up or access a compositional and emotional space that was not available to me through the guitar,” says Fred Abong.

“And that's basically what happened. I definitely experimented with and deployed a boatload of digital sounds on the record, but the act of composing by banging on note-producing keys was the real focus. It was a really different experience for me. It must have something to do with the piano's unique identity as an instrumental 'platypus' - it is both a percussion and melodic instrument that encompasses the entire musical spectrum. Maybe because of that, I felt free on Blindness to be both more traditional and more experimental. In any case, it was great fun and I'm glad I gave it a go. ”

CD 2
Homeless Note:

“Homeless was originally self-released in 2018. It was the first set of songs I had written in what I consider to be my 'true' solo phase. In some ways, Homeless and Blindness are 'bookends' on my musical output. They represent the spectrum of sounds that I am drawn to as a songwriter and composer. While I'll admit to some embarrassment when listening to the songs on Homeless, mainly because they are in a higher key than they should've been, I still stand by the songs themselves, just as I do with the songs on Blindness.”

Creating music that is a blend of “ragged Replacements and lyric-driven Bob Dylan” and “Elliott Smith with balls”, his songs are existentially and romantically focused, poetic, and slightly off-kilter. Detuned guitars, unconventional song structures, and a raw and unpolished production aesthetic characterize the overall sound. Fred’s hypnotic, sometimes gravelly voice adds to the effect.

This new record follows Abong's self-recorded 'Fear Pageant' album released in 2023 and earlier albums 'Yellowthroat', 'Homeless', 'Pulsing' and 'OMOPH'.

CREDITS
Music and lyrics by Fred Abong
All songs recorded, mixed, and performed by Fred Abong
All instruments by Fred Abong
Mastered by Fred Abong
Videos by Fred Abong
Publicity by Shameless Promotion PR

THE CD version comes with a bonus disc HOMELESS

CD 1
TRACK LIST: BLINDNESS
1. Ice Blink
2. The Dam
3. Blindness
4. Heaven
5. Buzzards
6. Paint Me
7. Listening
8. Hector
9. Penny Parade
10. Wool

CD 2
TRACK LIST: HOMELESS
1. Plum
2. Rattler
3. Homeless
4. Hi Avalon
5. Equinox
6. Cannery

Keep up with Fred Abong
Website | LinkTree | Bandcamp | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Apple Music | Spotify | Fred Abong Astrology |
Photos by Fred Abong

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