Important Rec.
V.A. : We are all one, in the sun -a tribute to Robbie Basho- (US/UK/D,2010)****
I hope since all the efforts by the new guitarists generations to say how important Robbie Basho was for guitar music I won’t need another introduction, but I am afraid it still is a small public who have discovered and appreciated him and also grasped his works and full talent. But even when John Fahey is a common trademark, that does not make his records so easy to find. The compilation was all Buck Curran’s idea who, as a duo with Arborea, is part of the growing psych-folk scene which tries to incorporate the serious guitarists, especially the independent voices inspired from the Basho areas too. This starting point brought two sorts of people to the project : the nu-folk/psych-folk artists who sang some songs from Robbie Basho, making them more acid-folk like, accessible and different as Basho, but gorgeous in a way, and the guitarists who were most directly influenced by Robbie Basho.
Steffen Basho-Junghans studied Robbie Basho as no other. His first contribution of two interpreting two Basho guitar pieces adds extra dimension to his master’s first laid path. This track is over quickly. Meg Baird plays the Basho guitar picking with ease and his song with transformational depth something of hers. Her former Espers band mate Helena Espvall recorded a cello improvisation, not sure why it is included, but it fits well in the compilation. Arborea’s own song sounds like a mixture of Marissa Nadler with some new traditional folk style. Glenn Jones’s contribution is a crafty fast picking track. Cian Nugent’s guitar piece is also interesting. It is different but also he might be indebted of Basho’s explorations. Rahim AlHaj played a Persian flavoured oud piece which fits with Basho’s love for Persian music influences, something which is often overlooked. Fern Knight’s interpretation with diverse instruments, a long acid folk track with diverse instruments, is another fine interpretation from the first category.
An album that shows how much Robbie Basho can be of inspiration to the acid folk scene, also showing glimpses of talent that are associated here.
Dedicated to the memory of Jack Rose.
