Aug 18 2007 - 10:00pm
I grew up in the mountainous Canadian woods and I guess that's where my music comes from. It seems to be those mountains that occupy my mindscapes when I hear or play the music that gets to me. I have memories of my mother driving through the hills, windows down, yodelling at the top of her voice. One day on that drive she picked up a hitchhiker who had been travelling around playing the bluegrass festivals. He'd met a girl and was en route to meet her at the next festival when he heard that while she had been hitchhiking, a car stopping to pick her up had been rear ended and shunted into the girl, killing her. I was about seven and too young to understand the implications of life's intensity. But when he played Mr. Bojangles and others on his acoustic guitar amongst the cedar grove encircling our house, I reached my defining moment. There were visions on the chords and those images have never gone away". Dominique Fraissard is a well-respected songwriter/musician in the folk/acoustic genre with a very original twist of urban transfer to his work. Since his first performances in 1997 at the chalkboard venues of Woodford Folk Festival, he has been in ever increasing demand. Dominique has been called on to support international and local acts including Roger McGuinn, Rory Mcleod, Andy White, George, Elixer, Denvar, Penelope Swales, Matt Walker and Ashley Davies, Stella One Eleven and many others. That first ‘epoch’ culminated in a place in the ‘chrysalis’ emerging artists program at Woodford 2002-’03. There Dominique attended a round table discussion forum chaired by John Butler. So inspired was John with Catharsis that he telephoned to personally invite Dominique to support he and Jack Johnson. This was followed by a support for internationally acclaimed folk outfit The Waifs. Other projects include his version of Nick Drake's 'Three Hours' for Um & AH Records' tribute to Nick Drake - Jeremy Flies, live original tracks taken for Club Acoustica’s Basement Showcases and original guitar compositions to accompany the work of indigenous poet Romain Moreton for an SBS documentary. His work has been heard on JJJ, 2SER, ZZZ Brisbane, FBI, ABC radio’s ‘the planet’, Doug Mulray FM, Qantas inflight and tracked to independent film. “Everyone has joy and pain but not everyone can articulate it. Music is a language that can bring us to the brink of our senses. The music I listen to moves me so much and lets me know that someone else has been where I've been and feels like I feel and that that's alright. When my art reaches someone that way, in a way that connects my humanity to others- the universality of experience, I feel hopeful”. His guitar playing and a writing style that is rare in a male artist are Dominique’s trademarks, from traditional folk pieces to more urban grooves. “Folk is my natural genre for its appeal to the deeper parts of me and the range of instruments and raw sounds from around the world; it's the peoples music. The direction and unfathomable future of folk through the troubadors place on a shrinking yet intensifying planet, world music and maybe a pinch of electronic trickery is enough to keep me frustrated with inspiration. Right from Woody Guthrie, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan, to the core folk artists of today, it's about confronting the truth socially, politically and personally and saying that we are much more similar than different”. What they are saying... “…just great, I think you'll be hearing more of him really soon. He just gave me his cd at the Woodford Folk Festival and I really liked it, it really inspired me.” - John Butler. "Getting the 'why the hell isn't he huge?' asterisk is Dominique Fraissard. Coming somewhere between the rock of Mick Hart and not as histrionic as iOta can be, Fraissard has voice, songs and a touch of the weird to be really compelling". - the Drum media. "Dominique Fraissard is simply one of the most amazing solo performers on offer. A bit of a male Ani Difranco, Dominique is well on his way to becoming one of Australia's premier songwriters and performers". - the Drum Media. “...with rousing concision, where originality and a refreshing elegance took precedence, was revealed Dominique Fraissard. A quest of alternative guitar tunings and a deep soothing vocal tonality Fraissard strolled the stage painting enchanting stories… here was an addiction that the whole world should indulge in.
