Despite periodic lockdowns around the world, recordings continue apace. Lots of new names this month, which bodes well for the state of modern guitar.
Teis Semey Mean Mean Machine [Zennez Records]
Amsterdam-based Danish guitarist, Semey is joined by Alistair Payne on Trumpet, José Soares on Alto saxophone, bassist Jort Terwijn, and drummer Sun Mi Hong for an outing of varied compositions. Some manage to be angular and inviting simultaneously, a rare feat. Others are more lyrical. Semey’s fluid guitar technique occasionally peaks in an impressive fashion, but always functions to serve the music.
Burnt Belief Mutual Isolation [Alchemy Records]
For their fourth record American guitarist Jon Durant and British bassist Colin Edwin (O.R.k./Twinscapes/ex-Porcupine Tree) once again worked remotely, as they had pre-Covid. The difference is that Edwin played double bass exclusively, increasing the already timeless quality of their prog/fusion/ambient music.
TeipTrio TeipTrio [Sonic Transmissions Records], January 14 202
Norway again proves to be a hotbed of modern guitar with Jens-Jonas Francis Roberts’ clarinet, joining Arne Bredesen’s guitar, and Nicolas Leirtrø on baritone guitar for a set of improvisations that run the gamut from assaultive to ambient.
Javier Areal Vélez rrrrrrrrrr tKtK [Nefarious Industries]
Areal Vélez is an experimental guitarist from Buenos Aires, Argentina. He offers seven live recorded tracks of intense but dynamic and musical noise, created with a limited pallet of objects and a lot of distortion.
Nick Robinson Lost Garden [Discus Music]
A live looper from the U.K. His new record uses additive looping to straddle the worlds of ambient, prog, and rock, creating a sound of its own.
Record Picks is a periodic offering from Guitar Moderne: a listing of recordings brought to my attention that I feel are worthy of being brought to yours. These are not reviews. Feel free to submit recordings, but they must be purchasable worldwide, reflective of modern guitar (subjective to be sure, but no blues, classic rock, be-bop, country, etc.) and on a par with the ones above to rate a mention. Many of these are available from DMG in NYC. If you have already sent me a recording, please feel free to remind me.
