One of the great joys of my vocation is discovering musicians I would probably never otherwise encounter. Enter Corrado Maria de Santis, courtesy of our dear friends at Lost Tribe Sound: “Corrado Maria De Santis, an Italian guitarist, skillfully combines the raw spontaneity of improvised guitar with computer-generated sounds, crafting Continue Reading
Guitar Ambient
Santiago Fradejas – Montages, Volume Two
What a joy it is when a friend releases a new album! Argentine composer (now residing in England) Santiago Fradejas offers an experimental music album composed on an 8-string electric guitar and loops, making a soundscape album that is, at times, Fripperesque. It’s dark, but not foreboding, and gently flows Continue Reading
Rivers Of Glass – By the Light of Burning Bridges
I can’t say I’ve heard of post-country music until today, but as it reminds me of post-rock, this is a genre that will definitely be worth exploring. Rivers Of Glass offer an instrumental album of shimmering guitar playing, sounding like an ambient music version of rain. It’s a sublime listening Continue Reading
Cousin Silas – Variations On A Theme Of Winter
First, a debt of thanks goes to my friend, the “Last American Poet,” Shane Beck, for reminding me what a sublime album this is from Cousin Silas, who was a friend of my previous blog, and an artist whose work I respect immensely. This album is filled with wispy rhythms Continue Reading
Ernesto Diaz-Infante – Vacilando EPs
We had the pleasure of reviewing an album by Bay Area guitarist Ernesto Diaz-Infante in January, and now, we can introduce you to Vacilando, a collection of instrumental tracks recorded on guitars, oud and banjo. The material is comprised of Ernesto’s composition, none of which exceeds six minutes in length, Continue Reading
Diana Hayes/Andy Meyers – Deeper Into The Forest
Andy Meyers is the former guitarist of Toronoto art-punk legends The Scenics. He’s gone off to do more exploratory work after moving to the Vancouver area, and this, his latest work, is a collection of soundscapes set to the poetry and vocals of fellow Canadians Diana Hayes and Susheela Dawne. Continue Reading
Ernesto Diaz-Infante – Saca Los Cuernos al Sol
My fellow Californian Ernesto Diaz-Infante provides us with a warm, shimmering work of nine instrumental pieces composed solely for guitar. Each track is warm, not only by experimental music standards, but in terms of pure music listening. My particular favorite was IV, which reminded me of a hybrid between John Continue Reading
Roy Montgomery – Roy Montgomery 40th Anniversary 2021 LP Series
I think it’s impossible to overestimate the important place Roy Montgomery has in the annals of New Zealand’s experimental rock scene. Thanks to his work on labels such as Kranky Records and Drunken Fish, he has quite a high international profile, and it helps that the music he’s produced for Continue Reading
Santiago Fradejas – The Light Through The Springs
The guitar, all by itself, can serve as tool for making a haunting orchestra’s worth of sounds. My good friend Santiago Fradejas, now resident in Kent, of all places (!) presents a mini-LP’s worth of brooding, swelling, lilting soundscapes. There is a menacing element tying the album together, as though Continue Reading
Fellirium – Changes
Yet another great listen from Russia. I have plenty more coming down the line. Fellirium produce a neofolk that stays away from the more pretentious parts of the genre, and sticks with fine, gentle instrumental soundscapes. One can hear hints of the Incredible String Band, perhaps a more acoustically based Continue Reading