… though John Fahey would employ a similar strategy on America’s second side (after a dose of fretboard gymnastics on “The Waltz that Carried Us Away” and “Knoxville Blues”), with “Mark 1:15,” it is “Voice of the Turtle” that comes across as the true pivot point for the guitarist as a composer. And it was just that, which he was becoming. From revivalist interpreter, to experimenter, to composer of, perhaps, the most fundamentally American works.
Search Results for: john fahey
John Fahey :: Live in 1967
John Fahey: resurrected once again. This 1967 soundboard recording, discovered among lost readings by beatnik poets Allen Ginsberg and Gary Snyder, is the oldest recorded solo concert from the acoustic guitar innovator.
John Fahey :: The Zabriskie Point Tapes
For his 1970 counterculture headtrip epic, Zabriskie Point , Italian auteur Michelangelo Antonioni had an inspired idea. He’d hire American Primitive pioneer John Fahey to supply (at least part of) the soundtrack. […]
Dance of Death: The Life of John Fahey, American Guitarist
In his new book, Dance of Death: The Life of John Fahey, American Guitarist, author Steve Lowenthal cites a review of John Fahey’s performance at Hunter College in New York by the Village Voice’s Paul Nelson in 1975: “His guitar-playing is a […]
John Fahey :: The Record Plant, Sausalito, CA – September 1973
John Fahey would’ve been 75 today, and though he’s been gone for some time now, the legend of Blind Joe Death seems to grow larger with each passing year. There’s no shortage […]
Currituck County :: Channeling John Fahey
Country, folk, raga, jazz, and bluegrass. All these genres and more play out and interweave in Kevin Barker’s wanderlust album Ghost Man on First. This first installment in the Ghost Man trilogy […]
The Gospel Of Fahey’s Christmas Soli
As the Turkey-fare winds down and the boxes of Christmas decor make their way from the basement, a transition is needed. Ringing in the holiday season in subtlety requires a look no further than America’s finest composer and most innovative maestro of steel string. With a discography expanding beyond 40 titles, it’s possible to overlook the holiday offerings among masterworks like Fare Forward Voyagers, The Yellow Princess, and those first five Takoma releases. Smack dab in the middle of John Fahey’s first decade shifting around the tectonic plates of traditional music came The New Possibility.
John Hulburt :: Opus III
When John Hulburt’s private press release Opus III came out in 1972, his hometown Chicago was awash in the sounds of Curtis Mayfield and Alligator Records. Isolated from the solo […]
Chuck Johnson :: Blood Moon Boulder
Chuck Johnson’s 2013 long player Crows in the Basilica was one of the finest guitar soli excursions in recent memory. His latest release, Blood Moon Boulder , might just be even better. Gorgeously recorded by Trans Am’s […]
Glenn Jones / Chuck Johnson / Imaginational Anthem, Vol. 6: Origins Of American Primitive Guitar
It’s been more than half a century since John Fahey made his first recordings, kicking off what he called the “American Primitive” or Takoma School of acoustic guitar playing — […]
Blue Lake :: Sun Arcs
Copenhagen-based Jason Dungan makes fully transportive music as Blue Lake. Sun Arcs is an absolutely perfect folk/ambient/new age/neo-classical hybrid, with the musician blending a 48-string zither, acoustic guitars, a Roland 606 drum machine, clarinet and more into these beauteous and buzzing instrumental compositions. “Bloom” sounds like a dreamy Pentangle / Laraaji collab, while “Fur” finds a happy middle ground between John Fahey and Steve Reich.
Calling From Elsewhere :: Hayden Pedigo on The Happiest Times I Ever Ignored
With The Happiest Times I Ever Ignored, Texas guitarist Hayden Pedigo wordlessly shares stories of fate and sustaining hope. A meticulous and detailed player, he’s spent the last decade refining and shaping his sound, pushing for ultimate clarity of expression. But just give that cover painting by Jonathan Phillips a good look: Pedigo is just as interested in stoking creative impulses that align him with his comedic heroes—here’s a guitarist who borrows from Harmony Korine nearly as much as John Fahey and names albums after quotes by National Lampoon co-founder Doug Kenney. Pedigo joins us to discuss bringing the unexpected into his work.
Transmissions :: Elkhorn
This week on Transmissions, Jesse Sheppard and Drew Gardner, the psychedelic folk duo Elkhorn. Their new album, On the Universe In All Directions, finds Jesse once again at his familiar 12-string acoustic guitar, but instead of Drew joining with his trademark Telecaster, he’s moved over to vibraphone and drums for this outing. From Buddhism to John Fahey, from time slips to Aquarium Drunkard itself, this conversation unfolds and wanders, we hope you enjoy it.
Transmissions :: Glenn Jones
Welcome to Aquarium Drunkard Transmissions. Our guest today on the show Glenn Jones, who joins us to discuss his new album Vade Mecum, out now on Thrill Jockey Records, as well as touch on and illuminate the complicated legacy of John Fahey. Both solo and as a member of Cul-de-Sac, Jones has been a force of creative energy in the world of solo acoustic guitar, guitar soli, or American Primitive music, a term we discuss in this chat.
Gwenifer Raymond :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Gwenifer Raymond is a virtuoso guitar player, born in Wales but extraordinarily adept in the American Primitive tradition, which she learned from Stefan Grossman tab books, John Hurt records and a guitar teacher who introduced her to John Fahey. Her latest album, Strange Lights Over Garth Mountain, is steeped in folk and blues, but imbued with a bit of Welsh folkloric strangeness, which she distinguishes from other UK traditions for its violence and its dark humor.