In the beginning, there was an enchantment and a bold idea.
In 2017, I became friends with a gentleman from Germany who owns a collection of old instruments. He is a musician and luthier too so the uniqueness of the collection is also in the great playability of all guitars. I’ve never been a gear fanatic but I was so amazed by these guitars that I felt it’s not enough to play them just once for a short while. And since I’ve always been looking for challenges on my musical journey, I decided to record an album which would feature different guitar in each song using mostly the flatpicking technique. No vocals, no other instruments, so that the sound of each guitar can really stand out.
Enough dreaming, get down to work…
Some songs are very old, older than the oldest guitar I used. Some were written just a few years ago. There are several traditional fiddle tunes arranged in an unusual way, a few original compositions that I wrote, 2 medleys that are tributes to my biggest guitar heroes, one pop song and one composition by the impressionist Claude Debussy. During the process of arranging songs, I experienced wonderful adventures while trying to find ways to play diverse material on solo guitar using a flatpick. Surprisingly, I always found a way and I can share it with you because I have written down all arrangements and a TAB book for all songs is part of this project. Practicing, recording, and postproduction of this project was also different from what I am used to from working in a band. I had to fight for every note on the record, there’s nobody to hide behind.
… and the result is already on the horizon
I hope this project will attract the attention of musicians, especially guitar players since it embodies part of the history of this beautiful instrument. However, my intention from the beginning was to make a record that will speak to all people who like music. To make music rather than an exhibition of technical skill.
It all took and will take a lot of time and energy but also quite some money. Therefore I have launched a crowdfunding campaign which you can consider as a presale of the album but also a chance to get other rewards. Some of them are exclusive since they are closely related to this project and the instruments used for it and you can’t get them anywhere else but through this campaign (documentary from behind the scenes, bonus videos of two songs filmed with the owner of the collection or a photo book with 110 historical instruments).
I feel that today’s world doesn’t allow people to focus on a complex task and enjoy the resulting satisfaction. However, the work on this project provided just that. I didn’t record just accidental picking and improvisation. I believe that this is music I once will be proud of because I put the best of myself into it and that the project has long lasting value. At least for me, it has and if you decide to become part of it, I will appreciate it very much. Thank you in advance.
