Finger Style Guitar

I’ve thought about making threads for specific albums/artist in this genre before over the years but was never sure if anybody else around here was really interested and figured most of them would just end up DOA. So here’s a thread to discuss artists and albums than fall into that category.

My primary reason for making this thread is the new Yasmin Williams album Urban Driftwood. Easily one of the best and most interesting album in this genre I’ve heard in a while.

 

Another good one that came out earlier this month.

 

Aquarium Drunkard just did a nice feature on the genre. Funny enough, the first two artists on their list are the first two I posted about here.

Transfigurations 2021 : Recent + Recommended 21st Century Guitar : Aquarium Drunkard

Also here’s a solid playlist I stumbled up on recently that has a lot of great stuff on it.

Mixcloud

 

I think you might be the only one that knows what this genre is

 

Yeah it seems that way, but I know I’ve at least seen William Tyler, Ryley Walker, and guys like that mentioned around here over the years.

 

I’ve never heard the term before but I’m listening to the Yasmin Williams album now and loving it

 

One of the best doing it.

Daniel Bachman Announces New Album 'Axacan', Shares New Song "Coranach": Listen

 

Nice to see this thread!

I love older folks like Fahey, Glenn Kotke, Robbie Basho et al, stoked to check out these new artists

 

Also kind of the opposite of primitive guitar, but I’ve gotten really into Will Ackerman in recent years. The first album especially

 

I found Yasmin Williams just recently and have really loved Urban Driftwood! She reminds me a lot of Nathan Salsburg, or someone like Andy Mckee (but more consciously rooted in tradition than him, perhaps?).

But American primitive guitar is a new term to me. Definitely thrown off by it being called that haha.

 

Yeah wasn’t sure what to call it exactly, I initially named it instrumental guitar but didn’t get a single reply. If anybody has a better name I’ll update it. I actually got American Primitive Guitar from here. American primitive guitar

 

I'm glad to learn more about it as a particular genre. "Fingerstyle" is a more recognizable term to me, but I'm not sure whether that has its own distinctions?

Cool that you made this thread, I'll definitely go back and check out the other artists you mentioned too.

 

That Yasmin Williams album is really special. I need to poke around in this subgenre a bit.

 

Given all the discussion of the genre name in here, it’s probably worth reading Yasmin Williams’ brief thread on it and the Fahey comparisons from the other day:

Whatever you want to call it, Mason Lindahl’s new album deserves more recognition than it’s received this year (despite a glowing review from P4K). It will definitely end up on my AOTY list:

Also, Andrew Weathers & Hayden Pedigo’s recent collaboration is pretty good too, as is the recent collab between Cameron Knowler and Eli Winter:

Big Tex, Here We Come, by Andrew Weathers & Hayden Pedigo

Anticipation, by Cameron Knowler & Eli Winter

I’ve been listening to a lot of this stuff lately; I’ve been drawn more and more to instrumental music these days.

 

Yeah I’ve been really enjoying that Knowler & Winter collab album. I will def check out the others you mentioned.

 

Yasmin really deserves her own thread at this point, but this is mesmerizing:

Also, to the question of genre and the thread that @Gjpeace brought up, the idea that she is reclaiming a world of music that was in a very real sense stolen from her a black woman is fantastic. In that way, while she may be connected to guitarists like Fahey or McKee through some stylistic elements, especially as she makes use of black instruments and influences, she is inhabiting a tradition that is uniquely hers. I love that.

 

Urban Driftwood wowowowow I love it

 

Saw Yasmin list this album recently as one of her favorites so figured I’d it throw out. Checked it out and it’s beautiful stuff.

 

Even though it’s banjo rather than guitar, I highly recommend the new Nathan Bowles & Bill MacKay album.

 

The Face of Solo Guitar Is Changing. It’s About Time.

 

Urban Driftwood is by far my most played album so far this year

 

Two good ones available today.

 

New Daniel Bachman album out today. Easily one of the best doing it and the new album is amazing.

 

Came here to post that Matthew J. Rolin record. Of course, I was beat to it. Listening to it now and loving it. Between this and the outstanding Bachman record (which veers as far away from guitar as he's gotten so far, doesn't it?), I'm pretty happy.

Here's a cathartic collab track by Rolin and Pete Fosco that I listened to quite a bit when it was released: