On his latest album on Tompkins Square Records, solo guitar legend Harry Taussig shows that age is not a deterring factor when it comes to exquisite fingerpicking. Available today, 80 finds the octogenarian guitarist blending aspects of European classical music with the traditions of American folk. Across the album’s eleven tracks, you can certainly detectContinue reading “Harry Taussig – 80”
Category Archives: American Primitive Guitar
Elijah McLaughlin Ensemble – II
It wasn’t going to be easy for guitarist Elijah McLaughlin to outdo his brilliant 2020 debut album, but he certainly achieved that feat with this majestic LP of improvised chamber folk music Available this Friday on good ol’ Tompkins Square Records, Elijah McLaughlin Ensemble II features the trio of musicians (Joel Styzens on hammered dulcimerContinue reading “Elijah McLaughlin Ensemble – II”
Cameron Knowler & Eli Winter – Anticipation
Cameron Knowler and Eli Winter, two friends who happen to be some of the brightest young talents in solo guitar music today, bring the best out of each other on their new duo album, Anticipation. Recorded mostly in a mammoth session last year in Houston, TX, this album finds the two guitarists winding down theContinue reading “Cameron Knowler & Eli Winter – Anticipation”
Mason Lindahl – Kissing Rosy in the Rain
Mason Lindahl takes solo guitar music well beyond its folk and blues roots, and approaches it instead from a classical and minimalist experimental frame of mind. The NYC-based musician’s compositions are filled with brisk nylon flamenco fingerpicking and tight lyrical melodies, punctuated by brief, but tense moments of silence. His guitar work alternates between aContinue reading “Mason Lindahl – Kissing Rosy in the Rain”
Steffen Basho-Junghans – The Dancer on The Hill
When it comes to guitar soli music, few artists possess the finesse and precision of Steffen Basho-Junghans, particularly on his latest album, The Dancer on The Hill. Released on vinyl last month through Architects of Harmonic Rooms & Records, this record shines with astonishingly intricate fantasias and fluid ragas that absolutely spark with life. WhileContinue reading “Steffen Basho-Junghans – The Dancer on The Hill”
Interview with Matthew J. Rolin, Eli Winter and Joseph Allred
Next week, Worried Songs, a new UK-based record company, will be reissuing Joseph Allred’s The True Light and the debut LPs by both Matthew J. Rolin and Eli Winter on vinyl. To celebrate this special occasion, the four of us recently had a chat over Zoom, and they each got a chance to perform someContinue reading “Interview with Matthew J. Rolin, Eli Winter and Joseph Allred”
Powers/Rolin Duo – The Nightland
Much like the billboard on its cover, the music of the Powers/Rolin Duo’s The Nightland is a gleaming light in the oppressive darkness that seems to be filling our world right now, providing us a little hope and illuminating a path out of the gloom. Comprised of two side-long pieces, this album finds Jen PowersContinue reading “Powers/Rolin Duo – The Nightland”
Gunn-Truscinski Duo – Soundkeeper
With four LP sides of finely sculpted guitar and percussion soundscapes, Soundkeeper is the fourth and possibly best record in the already superb Gunn-Truscinski Duo discography. Guitarist Steve Gunn and drummer John Truscinski have been playing together for ten years now, so they would of course know each other’s playing styles and strengths as ifContinue reading “Gunn-Truscinski Duo – Soundkeeper”
Elkhorn – The Acoustic Sessions Interview
Last winter, Elkhorn, which is comprised of childhood friends, Jesse Sheppard and Drew Gardner, were supposed to turn up for a gig with fellow guitarist, Turner Williams Jr. (Ramble Tamble, Guardian Alien). The night of, a blizzard struck and the concert was cancelled. So the group retreated to Gardner’s home studio, grabbed some acoustics andContinue reading “Elkhorn – The Acoustic Sessions Interview”
Joseph Allred – Michael
There are some albums that hook you right from the first note, pull you deep into their worlds and won’t let go until the final moments of the final song. Joseph Allred’s Michael is one of those albums. With a bevy of releases under their belt already, Allred is a well seasoned musician that oftenContinue reading “Joseph Allred – Michael”
Record Crates United 