Modern guitar pioneer, Fred Frith, was kind enough to contribute to the feature I did For Premier Guitar on extended guitar techniques. His new record, a duo with saxophonist John Butcher, The Natural Order, is an improvised tour-de-force, with both players using extended techniques in a musical conversation of the highest order.
Seattle guitarist Dan Phelps’ recorded output is minimal but choice. Modular, a record with the sometime Bill Frisell rhythm section of Viktor Krauss (bass) and drummer Matt Chamberlain is a feast of textures and rhythms, while his more recent solo EP offering, Death Under Rainbows, explores Torn-like distortion along with Phelps’ unique take on twang. That is pretty much it, but the music was intriguing enough to make me seek him out.
We would like to welcome a new advertiser to Guitar Moderne: Red Panda. Their approach to guitar effects comes from experience building modular software synthesizers. They work out of a Detroit workshop at the Green Garage in Midtown, a 1920 showroom for model T-based automobiles that was recently remodeled to create a highly energy efficient building shared by about 50 companies.
There is a full review of their amazing Particle pedal coming soon, but until then please click on the ad to get info about this unique granular stomp box.
The Particle is a granular delay/pitch shifting pedal that offers some effects previously available only in DAW plug-ins. It chops the signal into small grains and then modulates the sound, using the techniques of granular synthesis in real time. Results range from radical pitch and delay modulation to shimmering repeats to stutter/glitch sounds.