I was somewhat surprised to see this album is from 2017, as the thought process behind it make me think very much of some of the projects which came out during the pandemic. The concept was simple, provide 26 graphic artworks to musicians who were then asked to provide musical responses, which resulted in 51 guitar-based tracks spanning a wide range of styles. The graphic submissions included paintings, drawings, collage, digital manipulation, photography, and even a paper-cutting, while the responses included quirky acoustic compositions, European free improvisation, textural soundscapes, minimalism, noise, avant/RIO rock, Canterbury and much more. This was sent to me by Jerry King, who provided a response using 14 layers of different guitars, and while I obviously recognise Fred Frith, many of those involved are new to me: Luciano Margorani, Shawn Persinger, Amy Denio, Henry Kaiser, Elliott Sharp, Fred Frith, Ron Anderson, Dave Newhouse, Wadi Gysi, Kalahari Surfers (Warrick Sony), Elliot Knapp, Mike Cooper, Nick Didkovsky, Billy Swann, Bun Itakura, Dereck Higgins, RenÈ Lussier, Jerry King, Karl Blake, Chris Cochrane, John Jasnoch, Frank Pahl, NoÎl AkchotÈ, Brian Woodbury, Miroslav Wanek (Uz Jsme Doma), Jeremy Jacobsen (The Lonesome Organist), Leandro KalÈn, Shankara Andy Bole, Carla Diratz, Bret Harold Hart, Janet Feder, Marc Edwards, Ian Brighton, Mark Stanley, Mark Hewins, John Russell, Anthony Donovan, Dennis Gonzalez, The Songraiders (Dustin Villarino Frias/Irvin Jose Villarino Frias), Raul Valverde, Intage Taluure (Jean-Marie Mievis/Kim DuChateau), Tomoaki Soma, Dario D’Alessandro (aka Doriano Budella), Paul Morris, Michel Kristof, AndrÈ Duchesne, Chris Bywater, Nick Prol, Inesa Navarro, Dan Stearns and project founder Gonzalo Fuentes.

With so many tracks, and this only being a single CD in length, it meant the pieces themselves had to be somewhat curtailed so many of the tracks are well under two minutes long with only a few above that, but none of them stretching to three minutes. Consequently, if the listener does not like what is being performed (and many are very experimental) then don’t worry as there will be another along in a minute! One thing I really enjoyed was this comes with a poster insert with all the graphic artwork on one side, and details on the back from each musician as to which one they responded to and also how they undertook the process which is simply fascinating. The overall result is a wonderful introduction into experimental art rock and musicians which most not normally come across. Indeed, even I have not heard of the vast majority of these, and I listen to way more music than the normal human. Available on Bandcamp for just $7 for the download or $12 for the physical version I have, this is a great way to expand your musical mind.

Rating: 8/10

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Links:
https://spectropol.com/