New American Folk Hero
Andy Futreal -3"cdr- (UK,2007)****'
This new artist’s release comes as a nice surprise. “Like Twilight Bleeding” is long, beautiful warm breathing improvisation on acoustic guitar, followed by the shorter, faster-melodic composition, “Kaftan”, having its own inner flamenco blood. Both tracks are recorded in one take. Last 4-track track piece has additional insect-like sounds in the background, and sliding and droning feedback strings, which accompany like additional keyboard arrangements. It is like old time blues in a faraway mountain wooden house of which the environment and landscape, as an impossible to neglect factor, describes itself along with it its composition and improvisation.
Andy grew up in North Carolina, but has lived in Cambridge, UK for the past 7 years now. Influences include Monk, Feldman, African guitarists like Phuzekmesi, Madala Kunene, Manfila Kante and Ali Farke Toure, the Chinese erhu of A Bing, the American folk blues of Leadbelly and the Cuban Son of Arsenio Rodriguez. The last twenty years he has privately recorded many tracks, and with his brother released a cd as the Offramps. This mini-cdr proves he is a neglected talent, living outside the commercial entities, but he deserves attention.
