Vaious Artists - The Garden of Forking Paths
SKU
05-IMPORTANT162
"The Garden of Forking Paths was compiled for Important Records by guitarist James Blackshaw. Compositions were recorded specially for this collection by Helena Espeval (Espers), James Blackshaw, Jozef van Wissem, and Chieko Mori. Beautifully assembled, The Garden of Forking Paths serves as a singular and particularly unique musical statement. The story of how this compilation came into being is, unlike many others, a relatively simple one. Blackshaw’s wish was to put together a collection of experimental music for solo stringed instruments, with little to no overdubs, that would hold up as a thoughtful and engaging experience from beginning to end. Chieko Mori, a Japanese composer, koto virtuoso, and one-time FABRICA resident, first came to Blackshaw’s attention in 2005 with her beautiful and mesmerizing debut recording Jumping Rabbit, for John Zorn’s Tzadik label. Jozef van Wissem is a similarly accomplished Renaissance lute player and composer from the Netherlands who has collaborated with Gary Lucas and Tetuzi Akiyama and whose solo albums often make use of palindromic or mirrored structures interwoven with field recordings to haunting and immensely compelling effect. Swedish cellist and improviser Helena Espvall, perhaps currently best known for her work with US psych-folk group Espers, has also played with such luminaries as Pauline Oliveros and Eugene Chadbourne. Her own recent solo work has demonstrated amazing power and sensitivity. Each of these artists has a very unique and unorthodox approach to writing and performing, which challenges as much as it embraces their respective instrument’s musical roots, be they in Eastern or Western traditional or classical forms. Despite the variation in instrumentation, not to mention the differences in nationality and the backgrounds of the performers, it is interesting to note certain similarities to be found between the five tracks contained on this compilation. Sometimes it can be heard melodically; sometimes within the movement, space, or color of the pieces; sometimes it is simply felt—a purity or emotional resonance that defies analysis and can rarely be articulated in words."
“Blackshaw is able to differentiate himself through his exotic lyricism, stray pan-ethnic flourishes, and pure unmasked virtuosity, while his youth suggests he’s only just begun to tap his true capabilities.”-Pitchfork