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james blackshaw / interview / article
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Crawdaddy Magazine / by J. PoetJames Blackshaw plays acoustic guitar and composes music that draws listeners into a fathomless space that’s both comforting and mysterious.Crawdaddy Magazine http://crawdaddy.wolfgangsvault.com/Article/James-Blackshaws-Minimal-Folk-fo r-the-21st-Century.html James Blackshaw’s Minimal Folk for the 21st Century by j. poet • July 17, 2009 James Blackshaw plays acoustic guitar and composes music that draws listeners into a fathomless space that’s both comforting and mysterious. He grew up playing in punk bands, but ditched his electric guitar a few years ago to start playing a 12-string acoustic. Combining folk finger-picking, subtle pop melodies, and the repetitive, slowly unfolding compositional techniques of new music, he forged a deep trance-inducing style all his own. His music has been called “pastoral psychedelia,” “minimal,” and described as “Nick Drake meets Leo Kottke.” His wide-open, subtly driving sound occupies its own psychic and emotional space. The music is too dark and dissonant for new age, although it can be soothing at times, and too stark for folk, although John Fahey and Robbie Basho are obvious influences. It’s also too melodic for the minimalists, although there are hints of Steve Reich and Terry Riley in the way the music both expands and curls into itself, suggesting unheard melodies......
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JAMES BLACKSHAW – THE GLASS BEAD GAME Review
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popmatters.com / by Matthew FlanderIt feels strange to say James Blackshaw has incorporated more orchestration into his new album, The Glass Bead Game. His records barely seem to hold the depth and dimensions of his guitar play alone. How can he even fit cello and other strings and even voice on to his record without weighing it down, overstuffing it or bloating it with sound?Popmatters.com http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/107275-james-blackshaw-the-glass-bead-ga me/ 16 July 2009 James Blackshaw The Glass Bead Game (Young God) By Matthew Fiander It feels strange to say James Blackshaw has incorporated more orchestration into his new album, The Glass Bead Game. His records barely seem to hold the depth and dimensions of his guitar play alone. How can he even fit cello and other strings and even voice on to his record without weighing it down, overstuffing it or bloating it with sound? Well, in the way Blackshaw seems to do so much with so little on all his records, he does the same with newer elements on The Glass Bead Game. “Cross” takes on most of the new pieces to his music, and Blackshaw doesn’t try to widen the expanse of his sound with them, but instead, he deepens it......
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JAMES BLACKSHAW/THE GLASS BEAD GAME/Review
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CokeMachineGlow.com / by Traviss CassidyHe’s on his way to building a grand monument to the craft he and so many before him have lovingly treated...Coke Machine Glow http://www.cokemachineglow.com/record_review/4652/jamesblackshaw-theglassbea dgame-2009 James Blackshaw The Glass Bead Game (Young God; 2009) Traviss Cassidy :: 07/06/2009 It’s helpful to compare the two to gain some context: Afro-beat experimentalists NOMO and 12-string guitar composer James Blackshaw, though wildly different in sound, have captivated me in recent years for exactly the same reasons. Each already has a well-defined, recognizable aesthetic, one they tweak and hone just enough with every release to keep those interested pining for more. Each willingly flaunts its canonical influences (for NOMO: Fela Kuti, Mulatu Astatke, and the Congotronics noise-mongerers; for Blackshaw: Fahey and his Takoma disciples, Philip Glass, Steve Reich, etc.) but synthesizes and toys with those bedrock foundations enough to rightfully claim a bit of artistic ownership. Innovation is something to strive for, but there’s something to be said for artists who so deftly summate the strengths of others while adding a page or two of their own to the book of, er, Greatness—and do so on such a regular basis. The Glass Bead Game, more than any of his other......
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James Blackshaw / The Glass Bead Game / Review
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CokeMachineGlow.com / by Traviss CassidyHe’s on his way to building a grand monument to the craft he and so many before him have lovingly treated...Coke Machine Glow http://www.cokemachineglow.com/record_review/4652/jamesblackshaw-theglassbea dgame-2009 James Blackshaw The Glass Bead Game (Young God; 2009) Traviss Cassidy :: 07/06/2009 It’s helpful to compare the two to gain some context: Afro-beat experimentalists NOMO and 12-string guitar composer James Blackshaw, though wildly different in sound, have captivated me in recent years for exactly the same reasons. Each already has a well-defined, recognizable aesthetic, one they tweak and hone just enough with every release to keep those interested pining for more. Each willingly flaunts its canonical influences (for NOMO: Fela Kuti, Mulatu Astatke, and the Congotronics noise-mongerers; for Blackshaw: Fahey and his Takoma disciples, Philip Glass, Steve Reich, etc.) but synthesizes and toys with those bedrock foundations enough to rightfully claim a bit of artistic ownership. Innovation is something to strive for, but there’s something to be said for artists who so deftly summate the strengths of others while adding a page or two of their own to the book of, er, Greatness—and do so on such a regular basis. The Glass Bead Game, more than any of his other......
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JAMES BLACKSHAW/THE GLASS BEAD GAME/Review
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NPR.org / by Lynda SmithHis music seems to have a church-like quality. His guitar mimics an entire orchestra.••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• NPR.org http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105986417&ft=1&f=1039 James Blackshaw: A One-Man Orchestra Lynda Smith Twelve string guitarist James Blackshaw got his start in music by playing in a punk band. The Glass Bead Game is the latest album from James Blackshaw. All Things Considered, June 28, 2009 - Listening to James Blackshaw perform, you would never guess that he got his start in music by playing in a punk band. The 12-string guitarist is best known for his lush, symphonic compositions. Blackshaw recently sat down with NPR's Guy Raz to talk about his musical style and his latest album, The Glass Bead Game. Blackshaw is often likened to John Fahey for the experimental quality of his music, but the comparison only goes so far. Blackshaw cites a broad spectrum of influences, including American minimalism and liturgical music. It was his love for the latter that drew him to the 12-string. "It was like an immediate shift in the way that I played," Blackshaw says. "The instrument really rings out." His music seems to have a church-like quality. His guitar mimics an entire orchestra. The lushness of his......