Another wonderful, if brief, review of Now the Deer:
"Essentially a Pitcher guitar album but he’s joined by a buncha pals like Boston’s Mike Bullock who takes aim with his contrabass, and previous collaborator Christian Kiefer helps out with pianos n banjos n such. So now it’s a delicate guitar record with a heavy dose of ambient concrete. Click & crunch, field recordings, mumbled whispers, resonating, shaking, all adding to the overwhelming beauty. Pitcher’s guitar is slow, calculated, and wide open, like Malick’s Days Of Heaven with an understated intensity and long takes of waving wheat fields glowing in the sun. Now The Deer came out at the beginning of the year and I still haven’t heard anyone talking about it. This is criminally underrated, a shining centerpiece on 2011′s mantle (with some seriously sweet packaging, each one with a different photo Pitcher took in Spain housed in a vellum envelope)."
Link here. Now to get Days of Heaven on the list of films to see!
Generally speaking, I find globalization abhorrent and disastrous in more ways than I can even begin to list. Our shrunken world however, does have its moments of grace. A friend sent me this quote, posted on a Ukranian's facebook page, about my new record:
"Right now we're just SAVOURING the new Jefferson Pitcher. Utterly beautiful, like a big elephant's heart!"
I am not sure why but it fills me with some warm glee to think that my sounds are reflecting off of walls so far away, in a place so physically and historically distant.
While I am not sure that the music on my new record could be called "winter sounds," it certainly came from ice. (If it is any indication, I shot the cover photo looking out from our bedroom window to the studio where I recorded the record). It is not necessarily glacial, but perhaps white. We may for better or worse, let it serve as a harbinger of coming months. As is generally the case these days, I have little time to write. I will therefore allow the label's description of the record to do. By my definition, the record is quite diverse in its sounds and moods. I have no idea which piece to place below to entice you so, the opening track. Purchase at Tape Drift.
"Second Tape Drift outing from this amazing guitarist, and we could not be more thrilled with the results. A solo recording from the depth of winter, isolated in rural Canada. Resulting from a process-oriented project (improvising every Sunday for a set period of time, coupled with a companion piece of writing for each track), this one goes deep in its unique exploration of prepared guitar, tumbling overtones, chord relationships, hushed ambience, and sheer beauty. All tracks were improvised in one take, with no editing or overdubs. Pitcher’s full command of the instrument is never at question, and his tone is instantly recognizable as his own. Yet there’s no need to show off here – these thoughtful forays into particular moods/themes are gorgeous, compelling, and highly addictive. Comes with Pitcher’s original companion essays as a booklet. A fascinating and very intimate window into the mind of one of today’s most essential improvising guitarists."
I watched a video of you playing yesterday and found it wonderful. It is rare that I am surprised AND exhilarated by someone's approach to the guitar these days. I even find myself bored by my own playing, repeating the same ideas over and over, ad nauseam. I don't really know what to say beyond a simple "thank you," and frankly I do not have time to write. This new baby of mine has left me rather busy; the recording below is only the second time I have made my way to the basement in ten weeks. Ten weeks. How did that happen?
Well.....here's to you Bill. May my own sounds make more sense than my words. Mine too, is one track (two amps) improvised in the fifteen minutes that I had. As luck would have it, it also happens to be the first time I have been able to get the recording gear working in months. I spilled a beer on my computer three years ago, and the lights have been slowly fading out.
I stumbled across a fine, if short, review of my new tape Hirondelles last week from Impose Magazine:
"Long standing guitar improvisationalist Jefferson Pitcher enters the world of the cassette tape. Though the reels and plastic would seem a prison in which to prevent Pitcher’s talents from shining through, Hirondelles is a multi-layered work rich with invention and style. Released via Digitalis, Hirondelles is rife with minimalist trapping, hypnotic repetition, and beautifully crafted melodies from the mind of the musician/filmmaker. All the stronger is Pitcher’s ability to be respectfully innovative, calling to mind greats such as Chatham, Connors, and Montgomery, without lifting their signature."
Things may be a bit quiet around here as my wife gave birth to our daughter Ida last week. We are quite thrilled (aside from my son who seems mildly perturbed and emotionally distraught by the situation) and dumbfounded by the strange beauty of it all. She was born (by choice) right here on the bed where she sleeps and I now type. The sky has just gone black and heavy rain falls cooling the air. Unlike a summer storm, her soul seems a quiet one. If she was music, she would be Rothko Chapel (by Morton Feldman) to my son's Stellar Regions (Coltrane). How different we all are.
Anyway, I'll be back with more thoughts on music when a bit more light floods into this wondrous cave.
Stereo part V.XIV and the "I shouldn't have to pay for music any more" problem.
The drawings continue. Understanding and implementing the complexities of signal chain/routing (etc.) are not my strong suit and so.....
I am however, getting much closer. I just discovered (this should have been obvious) that there can be some serious ground hum and phase issues when running in stereo, which means I need some sort of a/b-y switcher to resolve those issues. Of course I then have to decide whether this should be a passive or an active switcher (I am leaning towards active) to best serve my purposes. Yikes.
Meanwhile, I have been reading some debate on the digitization/free distribution of music in Wire magazine of late, that began with a statement from the founder of Ubuweb. His "epiphany #4" was the conclusion that he would never have to buy music again. I am not sure where to begin with this, other than to say that I find it quite disturbing and sad that people have this mentality/perception. Why should music and musicians have so little value? Why should musicians not be paid for the art that they make? By this logic, should Museums and paintings and theater and dance and film, etc., all be free? Chris Cutler (drummer from the legendary band Henry Cow and man behind the label Recommended Records) writes some very eloquent and well thought rebuttals.
I recommend seeking them out (issues # 327 & 328) as this is an important question that in my opinion has vast cultural implications and lasting effects. At the end of his piece Cutler writes, "You may not care for ReR or the music it has nurtured, but you can substitute for it any number of other independent labels that support any number of other marginal musics-we are all equally damaged by the strange and thoughtless culture of indiscriminate uploading. Think of it as an ecological issue, a question of diversity for the sake of diversity. Forget the good guys/bad guys story, it's just a question of whether we want a static, monocultural, factory farm environment, or a diverse, plural, interconnected and evolving one. If the latter, we have to start thinking beyond the immediate personal convenience."
I close this brief treatise (trust me, it would be much longer if my wife was not 8.25 months pregnant, which just generally complicates things and reduces one's free time) with an example:
I played a gig a few weeks ago after which someone (a stranger) approached me and inquired about the price of a disc, saying that they enjoyed my playing a great deal. I told them the price ($10) and they nearly grimaced, as if to say that although I may have spent a lot of money making said recordings and although I may have worked for years on it, it should be cheaper than that. Said 'potential customer' stood there pondering with a giant cup full of frothy caffeine from Starbuck's. How much do those cost? How much do you pay for your iPhone every month? How much was the text you just sent? How much does your cable TV cost? Bleh. In my undeniably biased opinion, the value of things in our culture is frighteningly skewed. How do we right this? I don't even know where to begin.....
Perhaps I can end on a positive note, and suggest that you seek out something that moves you or intrigues you on a small label or even self-released by an artist and buy it. Right now. And keep doing it. Go see a local musician play. Keep your local scene alive. It is more important than I think most people believe. I know it has all been said ad nauseam, but it bears repeating. It just might change your life or bring more joy to your day than a giant, five dollar mocha!
