1
 
William Ryan Fritch Birkitshi — Eagle Hunters In A New World
Lost Tribe Sound March 1, 2017

William Ryan Fritch — Birkitshi — Eagle Hunters In A New World (March 1, 2017)

 William Ryan Fritch — Birkitshi — Eagle Hunters In A New World William Ryan Fritch — Birkitshi — Eagle Hunters In A New World (March 1, 2017)♦ο      William Ryan Fritch is a composer, songwriter, multi~instrumentalist and producer currently based in Oakland, California. His compositions are characterized by his unique range as a multi~instrumentalist and audio engineer, allowing him to realize large ensemble arrangements found in folk, Indie~rock, electronica,
Hip~hop, World and orchestral music as a solo endeavor.  
Location: Oakland, California
Genre: Classical, Folk, World, & Country, Stage & Screen
Style: Modern, Score, Folk
Album release: March 1, 2017
Record Label: Lost Tribe Sound
Duration:
Tracks:
01. Bek     3:20
02. Burkitshi     2:31
03. Tending the Herd     2:12
04. Goshawks II (Bonus Track)     3:00
05. Aegil     3:05
06. Distant Hooves (Bonus Track)     1:43
07. Karakorum     2:46
08. Gold Colored Foxes     3:13
09. Gurts     2:12
10. Qusbegi     2:42
11. Sala Ensalaar     3:30
12. Red Wolves     2:28
13. Goshawks     3:01
14. Scattered Flocks     1:33
15. Burkit     2:13
16. Tsingali     2:24
17. On Strong Winds (Bonus Track)     3:38
18. Descendants     3:36
Credits:
♦ο   Written, Recorded by William Ryan Fritch
♦ο   Mastered by William Ryan Fritch
♦ο   Design and Layout by Ryan Keane
♦ο   Photos by GoPro
♦ο   Published by Settled Scores LLC (ASCAP)
♦ο   Copyright by William Ryan Fritch / Lost Tribe Sound, LLC
PRESS:
♦ο   NEW COMMUTE INTERVIEW w/ WILLIAM RYAN FRITCH — https://www.newcommute.net/feed/2017/5/20/interview-william-ryan-fritch
♦ο   “The ethnic richness of this release hearkens back to his albums as Vieo Abiungo, as well as his Death Blues collaboration with Jon Mueller. Once again, the sound is incredibly mastered and nuanced; the sounds virtually leap from the speakers” — A CLOSER LISTEN    8/10 STARS
♦ο   “It’s the clearly defined aural equivalent of your favourite rocky scenes in your HD screensaver. Mightily impressive.” — NORMAN RECORDS
♦ο   “The landscape remains a vast and desolate spectacle and Fritch sets about using traditional Mongolian instrumentation to weave an utterly enveloping story of eagle hunters.” — IRREGULAR CRATES
♦ο   “William Ryan Fritch, custom composed the soundtrack which accompanies the full~length piece, “Eagle Hunters in a New World.” Fritch shared the energy, love and enthusiasm of the Burkitshi community through sound, taking organic tools and components to make a single musician sound like a 40~person orchestra.” — GOPRO (THE INSIDE LINE)
♦ο   “His talents as a multi~instrumentalist serve him well here, too, in the way he’s able to capture the musical spirit of the Mongolian people with authenticity and respect; never does the music feel like a pale imitation or pastiche as it might have had a lesser composer been involved.” — TEXTURA
♦ο   “True to its unconventional approach, “Birkitshi — Eagle Hunters In A New World — Fritch combines airy restlessness orchestral solutions with nuances of an arcane tradition, authentically “into the wild”.” — MUSIC WON’T SAVE YOU / ROCKERILLA
♦ο   “Fritch knows to create a self~contained whole, which is compelling, organic, melancholic and above all wonderful.” — SUBJECTIVISTEN
_______________________________________________
Review
Richard Allen, February 21, 2017
οοο    Birkitshi — Eagle Hunters in a New World is not only a great new film score from William Ryan Fritch, but the first installment of a brand new subscription series from Lost Tribe Sound.  The film bemoans the decline of a once~prosperous way of life, while the subscription series makes a statement of hope “in these uncertain times” ~ the decision to go ahead with a physical set flies in the face of the dominant streaming trend.
οοο    Nobility is involved in all three of these ventures: the teaching of the old ways to the new generation of eagle hunters (important note: this does not mean hunting eagles, but using eagles for hunting); the decision to celebrate the old ways of music production; and the defiant, complex music of the score.
οοο    Fritch has often veered into the vocal arena, but apart from some appropriate throat singing, Birkitshi is all~instrumental.  The ethnic richness of this release hearkens back to his albums as Vieo Abiungo, as well as his Death Blues collaboration with Jon Mueller.  Once again, the sound is incredibly mastered and nuanced; the sounds virtually leap from the speakers.  The music bleeds an intermingled sense of hope and sadness from every pore, eventually reaching a state of transcendence.  The cello is the most melancholic instrument here, but it provides only one color in a much larger palette.  The racing drums imply tribal life, while the bells and soft choirs imply a deep~seated spirituality.  Permanence resides where memory thrives, and Birkitshi is a work of shared memory, a hard copy in an ephemeral world.
οοο    While the uninitiated might call this “world music” (a descriptively poor and ironically noninclusive term), Birkitshi might more properly be called music of conversation.  It zeroes in on a specific region, honors its residents, and adds commentary from another sphere.  The soundtrack is both reflection and reaction, a demonstration of empathy and support, a statement underlining the importance of this particular old way, and by extension, all crafts in danger of disappearing.  Just as vanishing languages rob humankind of the ability to define specific objects and feelings, vanishing crafts diminish global understandings of history.  The press release engages in a bit of anthropomorphism, imagining the golden eagles feeling “a melancholy of knowing the world they fly over is changing so fast”, but the bonus behind this thought is that it honors the eagles as much as the trainers.  Vanishing habitats affect the local species, no matter what phylum.
οοο    The title of the subscription series possesses its own seemingly incongruous nature:  Prelude to the Decline.  It’s more of a shout against a potential decline, although the words seem whisper that the battle has already been lost.  There are many subscription options in all manner of formats, but the meat of the series is the talent on display.  The series will include even more music from Fritch, along with a new album from Seabuckthorn, whose last release made our Top Ten in Rock and Post~Rock; a new album from Alder & Ash, along with a reissue of an album we reviewed only a few months ago, lamenting that no physical copy was available; the long~anticipated new set by From the Mouth of the Sun; an acoustic album from The Green Kingdom; and the label’s first ambient album, from kj.  Forget the murmurings about 2017 being a horrible year; when we look at this lineup, we start to think that this might be a great year, and we couldn’t be more excited!   οοο    https://acloserlisten.com/
♦ο   William Ryan Fritch’s original full~length OST for GoPro, entitled, Birkitshi: Eagle Hunters In A New World releases worldwide on March 1st, 2017. The vinyl and CD edition of the album arrive in the ever stunning physically and sonically minded fashion that LTS has become known for. Eagle Hunters... takes form with a lush 180 gram audiophile grade vinyl housed in a heavyweight reverse printed jacket (limited to 500). This lacquer process vinyl collectors edition was masterfully cut by Paul Gold at Salt Mastering in NY. Both come with an extended digital bonus edition of the OST featuring 3 exclusive songs: Goshawks II, Distant Hooves, and On Strong Winds, plus a 22 page full~color PDF booklet showcasing many of the breathtaking scenes from the GoPro films. Each edition comes with a Bandcamp download coupon.
♦ο   For those that have followed the evolution of GoPro’s impressive video and film output over the last 3 years , William Ryan Fritch’s music will be immediately recognizable. From product launches, viral videos, heartwarming character studies to captivating short films; his music has helped punctuate some of GoPro’s most memorable stories with his beautiful, sweeping compositions.
♦ο   With Eagle Hunters in a New World, GoPro has forged ahead into new and exciting territory with the breadth of its film making and has partnered with Fritch to create a singular and engrossing sound world that underscores both the otherworldly beauty of Mongolia and the unique social and cultural changes that are affecting age old traditions and ways of life. Drawing its rich colorful sound world from both traditional Mongolian instrumentation and modern orchestration, the music of Eagle Hunters.. captures both the almost alien vastness of Mongolia’s landscape, still largely undefiled by modernity, and its jarring juxtaposition with the rampant growth and startling change its cities are undergoing.
♦ο   In its most ambient moments, immersive, otherworldly choirs and strings envelope plaintive and pastoral calm like unencumbered winds sweeping across vast plains. At its most bombastic, the rhythms race and rumble like beating hooves in pursuit. And in its most soaring moments, the music emanates an aura of the surreal grace and power these golden eagles display with reverence, awe and a melancholy of knowing the world they fly over is changing so fast.
Website: http://www.williamryanfritch.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/willyryfry
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/williamryanfritch
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/williamryanfritch
Bandcamp: https://williamryanfritch.bandcamp.com/album/birkitshi-eagle-hunters-in-a-new-world
ο♦ο♦ο♦ο♦ο♦ο♦ο♦ο♦ο♦ο♦ο♦ο♦ο♦ο♦ο♦ο♦ο♦ο♦ο♦ο♦ο♦ο♦ο♦ο♦ο♦ο♦ο♦ο♦ο♦ο♦ο♦ο♦ο♦ο♦

William Ryan Fritch Birkitshi — Eagle Hunters In A New World
Lost Tribe Sound March 1, 2017

ALBUM COVERS XI.