Stephan Thelen: Fractal Guitar (Teaser)
STEPHAN THELEN
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Stephan Thelen (best known as guitarist and composer for the Swiss minimal band Sonar and his composition for the Kronos Quartet) releases his first solo album on MoonJune Records in January 2019. It features contributions from Markus Reuter, David Torn, Henry Kaiser, Bill Walker, Barry Cleveland, Jon Durant, Matt Tate, Manuel Pasquinelli, Benno Kaiser and Andi Pupato.
Tracklisting:
01 BRIEFING FOR A DESCENT INTO HELL (18:37)
David Torn: electric guitar, live looping
Markus Reuter: U8 touch guitar, soundscapes
Jon Durant: cloud guitar
Matt Tate: U8 touch guitar (bass)
Manuel Pasquinelli: drums
Stephan Thelen: fractal and tritone guitar
02 ROAD MOVIE (13:23)
Markus Reuter: U8 touch guitar, soundscapes
Bill Walker: electric guitar, live looping
Henry Kaiser: electric guitar
Matt Tate: U8 touch guitar (bass)
Manuel Pasquinelli: drums
Stephan Thelen: fractal and blue sky guitar, granular loops
03 FRACTAL GUITAR (9:21)
Markus Reuter: U8 touch guitar, soundscapes
Barry Cleveland: guitar atmospheres
Matt Tate: U8 touch guitar (bass)
Andi Pupato: percussion
Benno Kaiser: drums
Stephan Thelen: fractal guitar, granular loops
04 RADIANT DAY (8:42)
Markus Reuter: U8 touch guitar, soundscapes
Barry Cleveland: guitar atmospheres, bowhammer
Matt Tate: U8 touch guitar (bass)
Manuel Pasquinelli: drums
Stephan Thelen: fractal and blue sky guitar
05 URBAN NIGHTSCAPE (17:38)
David Torn: electric guitar, live looping
Markus Reuter: U8 touch guitar, soundscapes
Matt Tate: U8 touch guitar (bass)
Benno Kaiser: drums
Stephan Thelen: fractal guitar, organ, samples
Produced by Markus Reuter & Stephan Thelen
Executive Producer: Leonardo Pavkovic for Moonjune Records
? © WRSS/Moonjune Music/2019
All tracks written by Stephan Thelen except "Briefing for a Descent into Hell" by
Stephan Thelen and David Torn (title taken from Doris Lessing's book), “Radiant Day” by
Stephan Thelen and Markus Reuter, and "Urban Nightscape" by Stephan Thelen, David
Torn and Markus Reuter.
Recorded at various locations across Europe and North America between August 2015
and April 2018.
Recording engineer at Gadget Box, Santa Cruz, California, where Bill's and Henry's
tracks were recorded on April 27, 2016: Patrick Brede.
Recording engineer at Powerplay, Maur, Switzerland, where David's tracks were
recorded on January 30, 2018: Alex Mularkey, assisted by Bernhard Wagner.
Recording engineer in Chicago, Illinois, where Matt's tracks were recorded on
March 30, 2018: Gabriel Lucas Gitin Riccio.
Drums recorded by Benno Kaiser at his rehearsal room in Aarau, Switzerland.
Post-production and mix by Benjamin Schäfer and Markus Reuter for Unsung
Productions, Berlin, Germany, April/May 2018.
Mastered by Alexander Vatagin in Vienna, Austria, August 2018.
David Torn appears courtesy of ECM Records.
After a few years of playing without effects apart from reverb in Sonar,
I felt the urge to compose and record some pieces in which effects were
an integral part of the music. I especially wanted to use an effect I worked
with before Sonar, which I call “Fractal Guitar” — a rhythmic delay with
a very high feedback level that creates cascading delay patterns in odd
time signatures such as 3/8, 5/8 or 7/8.
The other desire I had was to work with and to have some serious fun with a
few of the many great guitarists I've met over the years to create an album
that features some of the more forward-looking possibilities of the most
mysterious, compelling and eclectic of all instruments, the electric guitar.
The five tracks on this album grew out of a mind-boggling amount of
activity and crystallized out of myriad soundfiles, recorded across the
Western hemisphere during the last 3 years. Thanks to all my great friends
who helped me pull it off, especially to Markus Reuter, who shared his
exceptional talents and endless creativity with me on every step of the way.
Thanks also to Grace, Devin and Anil Prasad for their generous hospitality,
to Brandy Gale and Henry Kaiser for inspiration and to Leonardo "Moonjune"
Pavkovic for inviting me into the illustrious Moonjune Club.
Stephan Thelen, Zürich, August 2018