|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
LP
|
|
VDSQ 031LP
|
A main architect of one of the most exciting and innovative groups of the last decade, Guerilla Toss, Arian Shafiee has recorded for labels as varied and iconic as Sub Pop, DFA, and Tzadik. Engines In Unity is the brilliant follow-up to his 2018 VDSQ debut solo album, A Scarlet Fail (VDSQ 022LP). The record presents a retrospective of Shafiee's singular relationship with the guitar thus far, reconciling his interest in slow, languorous music and deep sound design. Vivid and often destroyed, the pieces on Engines In Unity pan between chamber arrangements and more inherently guitar oriented songs, drawing from his love of classical, ECM jazz, "slowed + reverb" culture and new age. In the artist's usual fashion, he crafts fleeting music that escapes categorization, with every vignette showcasing a new elusive sound source (most of which are processed acoustic or electric guitars). Through hyper detailed production, Engines In Unity takes you into massive physical spaces, all the while feeling simultaneously epic and understated. Mastered by Dan Walker. Artwork by Robert Beatty. Deluxe LP edition with large size poster; heavy tip-on jackets with spot UV gloss and soft touch finishes and full color 35"x24" poster featuring artwork by Robert Beatty; pressed to high quality vinyl at RTI.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
VDSQ 022LP
|
2018 release. Awash in color and texture, Arian Shafiee's debut album, A Scarlet Fail, brings to light a guitarist whose sound and mastery are in full bloom. Best known for his work in the East Coast dance/punk group Guerilla Toss, Shafiee has spent years warping the idea of what a guitar can sound like. In a group setting, Shafiee does what's best for the composition, often blending seamlessly into the electronics and rhythmic grooves of his peers. A Scarlet Fail gives him a revelatory solo spotlight in a series of new electric and acoustic compositions. Inspired by visual elements of Western mysticism, Arian's playing glows like light through stained glass. With a deluxe die cut sleeve designed by Robert Beatty, Arian Shafiee's solo debut is a gem of 21st ventury guitar artistry, one based not on the precepts of American Primitive but rather on a more fully realized world view of contemporary guitar. By using unconventional tunings and techniques atypical to the acoustic guitar, the music on this album finds itself in constant flux. While Arian's style is hard to pin down, each piece exists in its own expansive harmonic world, unfurling and ever moving. Equally dynamic in terms of technical skill and emotive resonance, tracks such as "Oxy Blonde" and "Muted Heather" glisten, with an every-note-in-the-right-place perfection. The melodies linger, sometimes hauntingly in the spaces between notes, resulting in a solo guitar album whose sound reverberates long after the needle stops.
|