Brady, Tim

GO [Guitar Obsession]

Label: Ambiances Magnetiques Country: Canada

"While Brady's three previous Ambiances Magnétiques releases were all focused more on his work as a composer, GO [Guitar Obsession] brings the guitar back to centre stage, making it clear why Guitar Player Magazine has named the Montréal-based composer and musician "one of the 30 most important guitarists for the future of the instrument".

The goal of the CD was to create a recording focused primarily on Brady's guitar playing and composing, rather than on complex studio technology. Overdubbing, looping and computer processing were part of the production process, but they always take a back seat to the sound and texture of a solo guitar performance.

The first three pieces on the CD are updated versions of pieces which Brady composed over 20 years ago. GO [Guitar Obsession] is a fast, jazz-tinged loop piece; Yellow, Add Green is a deconstructed blues with overdubs and While Softly Sounds is a beautiful solo guitar ballad. Frame 22: Switch is a new work, for guitar and live electronics, moving from rock-tinged clusters to abstract electronics to a haunting, melismatic melody.

The work of four other composers is also an important part of this recording, underscoring Brady's strong commitment to developing his vision of the electric guitar as a solo instrument in collaboration with other artists. Le Chants des baleines by Jean-François Laporte and unplugged by Alexander Burton where both commissioned by Brady, while Vampyr!, by French Tristan Murail, is a work dating from 1986. The CD ends with the quiet, reflective work Bobby J, by British composer Laurence Crane."-Ambiances Magnetiques