|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CD
|
|
FTR 787CD
|
"Limitation Is Necessary is the third set of music by Massachusetts-based string genius Lloyd Thayer we've had the honor of releasing. This follows the Duets LP (FTR 406LP) (with percussionist Jerome Duepree) on which Lloyd split his playing between a Weissenborn lap guitar and a 22-string Chaturangui, and the Twenty20 CD (FTR 698CD) which was all done on a double-necked Weissenborn. Both of these album deep and monumental explorations of mesmeric string textures filled with elements that ranged from Indian classical to blues to psychedelic with hypnotic grace. The blend of elements so extraordinary and seamless, his slidework is almost incomparable. When I asked him about the germination and evolution of the new album, he wrote eloquently about its creation. 'The first piece I wrote for the album was the title track, which came out of improvising, day after day after month. I could feel the music pulling towards the last recording Twenty20, but I didn't want to do another 38-minute piece, hence Limitation is Necessary.' Once upon a time, long ago, when I did my first instrumental Dobro recording, I sent a copy to my teacher, the late Stacy Phillips. He gave me some very positive feedback, and then said 'can you play all of this stuff live?' My answer was yes, and for whatever reason that became a foundational part of what I do, recording pieces that I can duplicate live. Of course, some of that happens with effects pedals. One of the influences for me is Indian Dhrupad music, specifically the Rudra Veena, which some call the great grandfather of all stringed instruments. Dhrupad itself is an older and slower river than some of the music westerners are used to hearing, which is faster and flashier (Ravi Shankar, Nikhil Banerjee, Zakir Hussain), and of course all of these forms use some type of a DRONE. For a while now, I have been working on the question: what would be the western drone? Leaf blower, highway traffic noise, Walmart parking lot? etc. Most of the pieces on Limitation have a drone in the background, which comes from a sustain pedal or looping pedal. Sometimes it runs throughout the whole piece and sometimes it comes and goes. The two 12 string pieces ('Rumination' and 'Celebration') were influenced by Ralph Towner, who has sometimes used an 'odd' tuning for his 12 string, in which some of the string pairs/courses are tuned to different notes (unlike a 'normal' 12 string where they are tuned to the same note). I spent a lot of time working on this, trying to develop a very specific light touch, so that I could pick individual strings on the 12 string. The doubleneck Weissenborn is used on 'Deviation.' This track moves between three different Turkish Makamlar -- each with a different sort of feeling or mood -- which go back and forth between the two necks. The theory behind this is a little too 'thick' or turgid for human consumption. So there are three instruments used: 12 string (two songs); doubleneck (one song), standard Weissenborg (two songs). Thats it!' Limitation is, indeed, 'it.' I have difficulty imagining anyone who digs contemporary acoustic string music not falling hard for this album's breadth and quality. It's an amazing musical trip. And we are a proud as could be to help get it into your ears. --Byron Coley, 2024
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
FTR 698CD
|
"It has been a couple of years (that felt like a lifetime) since we released lloyd Thayer's last album, Duets (FTR 406LP, 2020), which he recorded with the drummer Jerome Deupree. The intervening time has been weird as hell, but Thayer (master of every string that's ever been strung) has made the decision to create a fantastic, sprawling solo suite for himself. And now it is time to share the beauty with you. Unlike the music on Duets, the piece here was played entirely on double-necked Weissenborn guitar, although the sounds are altered and layered in ways that are a far cry from the delicate slide work for which the Weissenborn is best known. And if there's not a temple bowl in the mix somewhere, I'll eat a bottleneck! Still, many of the same tactics employed on Duets, like mixing Eastern sonances with blues-based art music, are on full display on Twenty20. The extended piece is broken into distinct segments, with different moods, tones, and styles of attack, but the transitions tend to be subtle. You are drifting amidst cool tendrils of acoustic guitar and almost before you know it, there are sparking cables of electrical menace hanging nearby while ghost-tones quiver ominously in the darkness. Because this piece evolved over the two years it did, I am assuming there's a dark narrative thread lurking somewhere in its interior. But here's the thing -- lloyd's playing and writing are as beautiful to listen to as ever, so I'm not sure it's really worth getting bogged down in interpretation. Perhaps the best idea is to just go with the exquisite flow of the music, and damn the torpedoes. Just dig the beauty. Y'know?" --Byron Coley, 2022
|
|
|
|