Having published Guitar Moderne for over a decade, I remember when I had heard of most of the interesting modern guitarists out there. These days, there is a spate of names completely unknown to me coming over the transom (actually through email). Chris Sharkey is one, playing left-handed guitars strung standard, with chops to spare and a keen sense of composition. His new record, Presets on Not Applicable Records eschews flurries of notes for new sounds, moods, and textures. We dive deep into Ableton Live, the joys of noise, the London scene in the 2000s and the Leeds scene of today.
Tag Archives: synth-guitar
The Mark Wingfield Interview
Mark Wingfield has found the key to seamlessly integrating traditional and modern electronic guitar sounds through his use of the Roland VG-88 and a Sustainiac pickup. We talk about that and more. Speaking of more, click on the more button for videos of Wingfield in action and more discussion of his gear and process.
The Jonathan Crossley Interview
His work at the intersection of guitar and technology makes Jonathan Crossley an ideal interview for Guitar Moderne. If you are interested in looping, processing, guitar synthesizers, and other guitar-related modalities, don’t miss this one.
The Blake Mills Interview
I have wanted to talk to Blake Mills, well forever, but especially since he recorded Look, a collection of instrumental pieces recorded almost entirely with old Roland guitar synthesizers. Since then he has used the synths on Mutable Set, a group of dark, intimate, minimalist songs that create a unique world. More recently, he busted out the guitar synth for a few moments in Notes With Attachments (see videos below), yet another unique-sounding record created in conjunction with world-class bassist, Pino Palladino. This time I contacted him through Instagram and we connected. Our conversation ranges far and wide, as Mills proves as thoughtful as he is musical.
The Tim Motzer Interview
For over two decades of world touring, nine solo soundscape albums, and collaborations including over 100 albums of credits, Tim Motzer has been known for his distinctive textural acoustic-electro guitar voice utilizing looping, bowing, electronics, and prepared techniques. He has collaborated with numerous musical luminaries including David Sylvian, Burnt Friedman, poet Ursula Rucker, King Britt, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Vernon Reid, David Torn, Markus Reuter, J.A. Dino Deane, and Pat Mastelotto, among others. Since 2016, Tim has toured the world playing prestigious venues and jazz festivals with Bandit65, an improvising trio he co-leads with guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel and drummer Gintas Janusonis.
Tim has brought his projects together under his own 1k Recordings imprint. We talk about that and much of the above as well.