The next returns to an area tangential to the first, a bit more rhythmic thrust, at times sounding not dissimilar to classic Gastr del Sol-wonderful buzz tones and cadences abound. The second track moves into slightly more abstract territory, bows of some sort (I think) being used, but that plaintive, essentially melodic character remains present, the cries underlined by nervous strummings, quite moving. I'm tempted to use the term, 'meander', to describe its near-15 minute path, but without any of the pejorative implied-Akiyama and Courtis find something of value around every bend. Largely single notes, very conscious of space between the players, but also melancholy and, as said above, anxious, a truly delicious mix. The first piece establishes the general mood that suffuses much of the album, spare but tonal-maybe think of Bailey at his most tranquil but also retaining a real interest in certain historical avenues of the guitar, particularly Spanish. Recorded in 2008 but just now seeing the light of day, it consists of four pieces, improvisations on a pair of acoustic guitars that might be described as 'pastoral' but that's far too banal and, really, inaccurate as, crucially, there's always an underlying sense of disturbance, of anxiety. (Just Outside) I don't know Courtis' work at all well enough to opine as to where 'Naranja Songs' sits in his oeuvre but although I'm certain I've missed many an Akiyama release in recent years, I'll easy proffer the opinion that this is, by far, my favorite recording of his since 'Relator'. Tetuzi Akiyama and Anla Courtis offer a modest and delicate work of art, yet for an uninvolved bystander like me, this is a beautiful spectacle of rich, brittle sounds. ‘Naranja Songs’ shifts from an almost traditional guitar playing into deep experimental and alien chants as easily and naturally as humanly possible. My favorite part is certainly “Springs & Strings”, where unsettling metallic drones are emitted and then transformed into a chaotic spring box going out of control. The next tracks offer a much more experimental approach. “Mind Mochileros” begins with a minimal duet where Akiyama and Courtis’ guitars paint an imaginary dialogue between bass lines and harp chords. In it, four tracks offer different and remarkable ways of how acoustic guitars can be made to produce intelligent, surprising and non conventional works of music. (Culture Is Not Your Friend) ‘Naranja Songs’ is certainly a wondrous and delicate work, given from the hands of Anla Courtis and Tetuzi Akiyama and released in a lovely Digipack by Public Eyesore records. Comparisons with the acoustic guitar parts of Gastr del Sol are not out of place there is a strand of minimalism in terms of repetition that weaves through the playing, such as the two chords that repeat and seem to slow in “Los Frets Nomades.” Parts of this are exquisite from two musicians who are known for louder forays into sound. (Monk Mink Pink Punk) These two veteran guitarists, one from numerous collaborations and the other from his long-time association with Reynols, take up acoustic guitars for a set of four excursions into string noises, scrapy rhythms, bowed notes and at times pretty chords and arpeggios. What holds the album together – aside from the quiet, detailed clarity of the recording – is both guitarists’ attention to resonance and sustain, a preoccupation that drives their improvisation and results in sounds both caustic and lovely. The remaining two tracks – “Springs And Strings” and “Los Frets Nomades”, as their titles suggest, see both guitarists delving into the more abstract possibilities of their acoustic guitars, wringing out bowed drones and indefinable percussive sounds. As on his recent collaboration with Tom Carter, Akiyama adds a welcome edge to his partner’s softer, more fluid figures. On “The Citrico Vibe” the two players ripple in and out of one another, fast picked patterns only occasionally disrupted by pauses or clashes like small rocks in a stream. With Courtis presumably providing the pulse – octaves and broken chords on the lower strings – Akiyama’s tautly pulled high notes are surrounded by a heady flow that, solo, his austere playing seems to diametrically oppose. (The Wire) After a sparse and spiky beginning, this meeting of improvising guitarists Tetuzi Akiyama and Anla/Alan Courtis settles into what’s almost a groove on “Mind Mochileros”, the track that opens an affable sounding collaboration. Tetuzi Akiyama & Anla Courtis - Naranja Songs Pepper / David Tamura / Philippe PetitĬhe Guevara Memorial Marching (and Stationary) Accordion BandĪ Barren Place of Overwhelming Simplicity The Unscratchable Itch: A Tribute To Little Fyodor

Alan Sondheim / Azure Carter / Luke Damrosch

Repeating gitbox guitar