Spotlight: Elio Martusciello

I discovered Italian guitarist/electronic musician/composer Elio Martusciello through a tip from Eivind Aarset. He, in turn, was clued in by drummer Michele Rabbia, who has played with both men. Rabbia claimed that Martusciello performed with just Ableton Live and its plugins. Of course I had to find out about this. The truth proved a bit more complex.

Martusciello’s recorded work is a masterclass in combining noise, melody, vocalists, found sounds, synthesizers, and guitar in a way that makes them seem like natural partners. His complex audio collages never seem crowded, making excellent use of dynamics, space, and tension. Each sound has its place, and works perfectly with every other element. The compositions can feel simultaneously abstract and romantic.

Elio doesn’t speak fluent English, so I decided to do the first print interview in a while. Hopefully, between Google translate and some editing, the essence of his answers remains.

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The Harry Christelis Interview

We live in a world of post Frisell-ian guitarists. A couple of generations have grown up influenced by this modern master’s use of space and effects. His influence shows more in some than others and, and, in fairness, his style is so idiosyncratic that it can be hard to find a unique identity under his musical spell. Still, British guitarist, Harry Christelis has managed that feat, learning all the right lessons while carving out a sound of his own through masterful, personal use of a different set of effects, and finding his own compositional and performing voice. We find out how, among other things, in our wide ranging interview.


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The Markus Reuter Interview

Happy New Year. My interview with Markus Reuter is long overdue. He has been a major part of the modern guitar community for decades, from his brilliant work with The Stickmen and versions of King Crimson, to his recordings ranging from ambient to prog, to his terrific podcast featuring a number of modern guitarists. He has worked with Tim Motzer, Adrian Belew, Robert Fripp and Mark Wingfield among others. Our conversation ranges wide and long, covering many things of interest to the modern guitarist.

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Joel Harrison and the Alternative Guitar Summit/Camp

Joel Harrison is a guitarist/composer who runs an Alternative Guitar Summit each year that offers concerts and clinics by many of the players featured in Guitar Moderne. We talk about many things including this years virtual Summit, his must have book of interviews, and the web radio show we cohost. Links below:

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The David Toop Interview

I once read a quote from Paul Klee, “Art does not reproduce the visible; rather, it makes visible.” I took it to mean that a true artist made you see in a new way, one that hadn’t occurred until you encountered their work. One aspect of David Toop’s artistry lies in writing about  music and sound in a way that changes the way you hear. It is not an exaggeration to say that reading his books Haunted Weather and Ocean of Sound changed my life. I lived in New York City at the time and much of what I had heretofore heard as noise pollution became a symphony of sound. So, I was chuffed, as they say on David’s side of the pond, to be able to converse with him at length about music and sound.

A performer as well as a writer (see Below), Toop has shared the stage with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Thurston Moore. A lifelong guitarist, Toop’s latest recording, Apparition Paintings,  combines his love of twang, his encyclopedic knowledge of sound art (a term he might not care for) and a wanton disregard for genre.

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