VHF Rec. 
Aleksander Turnquist : Faint at the Loudest Hour (US,2007)****
This is the first album I hear from this guitarist (I almost mistook him for Appelqvist, who also has music on Kning Disk). He follows a bit the likes of Jack Rose, James Blackshaw or Ben Reynolds, with more intuitive evolutions, not as much like with straight improvisational compositions and evolutions as you have with a raga evolution, but much more impressionistic.
The recordings are done with the help of Scott Solter who’s processing sound talent was used before with several other groups (The Mountain Goats, Court & Spark, William Lazarus, Tarentel, Erik Friedlander, Boxharp, and so on), a talent which I think I recognise. Alexander plays 6 and 12 string, plays vibes, lap steel, piano and has some prepared samples. At a certain point on the first track, “Amongst a swarm of hummingbirds”, a moody fingerpicking excursion, it sounds as if the recording is remixed into a sort of sonic machinery with different speeds and echoes, into a sort of part 2, with some colouring rhythmically processed distortions in it, before returning naturally to the original acoustic mood. Added in the pickings are the more limited-resonating ends of strings which seem to be included in the more complex pickings. Besides, the track had started with a few ambient textures. The second track is played by amplified pickings, in combination with slide, and is resonating a bit harder. Further on also some vibes are added, like overtone touches of notes. Also the third track starts in an ambient sphere before a new road of, -at first fast-, wheel of pickings arise and dance their way through.
Most of the time the compositions consists of very moody pickings, chords-wise, fastening a bit or calmer and sometimes with one resonating note, evolving moodily, here and there rather minimal with patterns or with a bit more melody, and can be divided into sections of different ideas with new texturing sound contributions, or with slightly changed tensions or speed.
On “Mime Fight” can be heard some surprising breaks of new picking ideas, with a more clever use of combinations strings and sounds of strings. The last most minimal outro is completed with just a few additional piano notes added to the minimal melody.
A very moody and enjoyable album.
