The Arbrasson — aka, the “singing tree”

The Story of the Arbrasson

In 2023, I discovered a new instrument called the Arbrasson—a notched wooden instrument that resonates like a singing bird when you caress its carved notches. When people hear it, they usually are surprised by how loud and clear its sound is, which does not seem to match its appearance: it looks like just a piece of wood with mysterious cuts in it—how could it sound like an electronic instrument?

The Arbrasson was invented by magician and arborist José Le Piez in 1996. In Summer 2023, I met Le Piez in his studio in Bordeaux, France, where we recorded together, and exchanged instruments as gifts. In Summer 2023, I met Le Piez in his studio in Bordeaux, where we collaborated on music together. When I returned from France, I began making my own arbrassons—it was not something I learned directly from José—it was just something that made intrinsic sense, based on my long history with Friction Idiophones. In a way, the Arbrasson it is also a relative to my longtime focus, the daxophone. The instruments are inversely related, in way: the daxophone is a sliding pitch instrument like the trombone, capable of making one note in any tuning, whereas the arbrasson is like a piano with its many notes, and can have any number of notes each with a single pitch.

Some Musical Experiments

Your Ol’ Toolbox Smells Good
(2024) 04:34

Your Ol’ Toolbox Smells Good is the single for the upcoming album of the same name, made by Daniel Fishkin in collaboration with tape player Aaron Dilloway.

After taking the time to build my own arbrassons, I had to find a way to record and compose with them that felt original. Unlike the computer, which offers “limitless” manipulation of media, manipulating tape offers a limited palette. But it is physical, tactile—you can pull on the tape, change speeds, cover up the erase head with masking tape, press on the pause button whilst recording. In fact, one of the things that initially drew me to the Arbrasson was that it reminded me of a sped-up tape. On this tape composition, I present the Arbrasson in a new context—in its own jungle, which does not sound like a real jungle that indexes trees and nature. With its mysterious music, buried in tape hiss and distortions, I do not try to say to the audience: “Listen to the arbrasson!”, but rather, to invite the listener to comb through the vines on their own, see what they are able to discover.

Music by Daniel Fishkin and Aaron Dilloway

Music mixing, editing and mastering: Daniel Fishkin & Zack Villere

A Movie… about How Instruments Transport you to Different Places…

Modos de Transporte: Bois du Rose
(2024) 18:30

Modos de Transporte (in-progress) is a multilingual travel-series. In the episode, “Bois du Rose” the host takes a high speed rail train from Paris to Bordeaux and there discovers the studio of Jose Le Piez, builder of “abrassons,” a type of friction drum sculpted from trees that sings with the simple caress of a hand. In fact, this instrument has a sonic ancestor called the livika, which comes from the island of New Ireland in Papua New Guinea, though there are no remaining indigenous elders trained to play it. As if possessed by these tree sounds, the travelogue dissolves into an abstract film of long takes and slow sounds. 

Film by: Daniel Fishkin and Catalina Alvarez

Music: Daniel Fishkin, José Le Piez, and Etienne Rolin

Music editing: Daniel Fishkin

video password: bois