The “death of the album” has been declared many times in recent years – but nonetheless, musicians keep making them and are showing no signs of stopping (and thank God for that!). Almost a decade and a half into the twenty-first century, there still exist bands and artists capable of composing immersive, engaging, and fully satisfying collections of songs that stand up to repeated, unshuffled listens. Here are fifteen of them. Read more…
Although this piece is aimed at creative people who are traversing the long, desolate desert of writer’s block, it’s also a great pick-me-up for anyone experiencing an awkward life period, whether it be termed a “dry patch” or a “dark night of the soul”. On Turning Ruts Into Grooves, Trevor Gordon Hall employs his virtuosic guitar talents in evoking feelings of uncertainty, ambiguity, anxiety, inertia, and the slow emergence of fresh direction and determination. Not so much a piece of music as an act of public service. Read more…
Trevor Gordon Hall is not so much a guitarist as a master craftsman. On Mind Heart Fingers, Hall lays a set of twelve prime pieces out in the sun for the world to see – and the world is better off for his efforts. Add to Hall’s innate and tasteful sense of musicality an exotic instrument in the shape of his trusty kalimbatar, and you have something really special. Read more…
Candyrat Records is not so much a label as a seal of guaranteed quality and exotic innovation. In kalimbatarist Trevor Gordon Hall’s case, exoticism is clearly the name of the game, and Surviving Ordinary Days bubbles with spicy bliss and seethes with a technique so advanced and emotionally engaging that it’s almost enough to make you want to cut off your own hands. If you like your acoustic music to travel as far from stuck-in-the-mud traditionalism as possible, need something to get you through depressingly ordinary wintery days, and/or are wondering just what the hell a kalimbatar actually is, just press play. Read more…