Like nearby Greece, Italy is becoming a hotbed of pedal manufacturing. These offerings from AC Noises should be of interest to any modern guitarist. Not cheap, but different.
Respira reverb/tremolo
Ama (reverb w/ oscillator + bit crusher)
Mike Baggetta joins a rarified cohort of guitarists—Bill Frisell, Nels Cline, Eivind Aarset, and David Torn—where serious technical ability meets a mastery of sonics. His band mssv with bassist Mike Watt (Minutemen, fIREHOSE, The Stooges) and drummer Stephen Hodges (Mavis Staples, Tom Waits, David Lynch) has a new album out, so it seemed a good time to catch up. We talk about the difference between the first studio record, Wall of Flowers, and this one, and go deep into Baggetta’s bag of sonic tricks (check out the photos of his pedal setup).
When I first heard Raoul Björkenheim in his band Krakatau it was like hearing Hendrix as inspired by Coltrane. Björkenheim’s latest recording, Solar Winds [Long Song records] is, in fact, a Coltrane tribute on which his tone and go for broke playing style still recall Jimi. It has been six years since Guitar Moderne spotlighted the Finnish guitarist, so it seemed like time to catch up. Be sure to check out the recent performance videos as well.
October 16, 2020 is a banner day for modern guitar releases. Two new generation legends in the making, Mike Baggetta and Anthony Pirog have albums dropping. Baggetta’s band mssv (with Mike Watt and Stephen Hodges) is also doing a live stream tonight under the aegis of the much-missed Big Ears Festival. Look for interviews with both artists at guitarmoderne.com soon. Subscribe so you don’t miss them.
Every now and again, I like to show a little love to the companies that have supported this endeavor for the last few years. I admit to being bewildered by the Red Panda Context reverb when it first came out. It seemed something of a quotidian pedal from the inventor of the Particle, Raster, and Particle. But when Curt sent me the 2.0 version I realized that in its own way it was as inventive as his other, more obviously out-there effects. Here are a couple of videos that show why.