Portland-based band Fruition have built a strong following with what can best be described as a West Coast Americana style of music. With mandolin, acoustic guitar and dobro often taking center stage, the group has roots in bluegrass but are by no means tied down by the strict confines of the form. Instead, they take a totally unique approach by adding in a healthy dose of easy breezy jamming and vocals with just a touch of country rock and pop.
Though Fruition have earned a considerable reputation as an impressive live act opening for bands like ALO and Greensky Bluegrass, they have managed to hold on to the organic, energetic chemistry of their live performances on their upcoming album Labor Of Love, which drops on April 22nd on Randm Records. The album captures Fruition’s evolution as a string band to a full fledged band embracing soul, blues and pop. Oh yeah, and the bluegrass stuff is still there too.
Today we are excited to present an exclusive premiere of an intimate new live video for “Above The Line” off Fruition’s upcoming album. The video features the band performing this enchanting tune in a warmly lit room and captures the closeness between the band members, just five friends getting high on the music.
Reflecting on the song, rhythm guitarist, piano player and vocalist Kellen Asebroek says, “I wrote ‘Above the Line’ in 2012 while working on a farm. A few weeks before that I had met someone and was developing really strong feelings for her – but I had to leave town to work. The song is about this fear of losing someone wonderful because I couldn’t give them the focus they deserved. I had also always wanted to write a song in 6/8 and this one flowed pretty freely from my heart at that moment in time.
Regarding doing the live/one-mic style recording in the video: I love stripping songs down to their basic elements like that. It shows them in a different light and kind of exposes the bare bones of the tune. If you see us do that one live, it’s charged up – big drums, funky bass, electric guitar and mandolin solos, the whole works. This is a slightly more delicate version.”
Watch Fruition play “Above The Line”:
[youtube id=”RvACZfAI3J0″ width=”630″ height=”350″]
Fruition release Labor Of Love on Randm Records April 22nd. For more music and a full list of tour dates check out www.fruitionband.com.
Cover photo: Cameron Browne
