'Bout strings 'n' things: Brandon Seabrook, Dustin Wong & Gregory Uhlmann, New York City Guitar Orchestra

Brandon Seabrook first appeared on my radar as the shred-tastic heavy metal banjo player with the band Seabrook Power Plant back in 2009. I saw him give a much more restrained performance with Jen Shyu and Harry Bertoia's sounding sculptures at the Nasher Sculpture Center in 2022, and was mightily impressed by his through-composed octet pieces on last year's Pyroclastic debut, brutalovechamp. Seabrook's sophomore release for Kris Davis's label, Object of Unknown Function, out on October 18, seeks to capture the vigorous physicality of his playing by including his body sounds, captured via contact mics attached to his legs, throat, and chest, along with the sounds of his banjos and guitars.

It's a "solo" album -- Seabrook's first since 2014's Sylphid Vitalizers on New Atlantis -- of overdubbed performances, juiced with ambience and rhythmic elements from cassette tapes. The combination of classic axes -- a 1920 guitar banjo, 1998 12-string electric, 1925 tenor banjo, and 1989 Telecaster -- and Seabrook's composer's intent results in a music that's orchestral in scope, with folkloric sounds bumping up against sci-fi effects. The net effect is similar to what Nels Cline achieved on his 2009 overdubbed-solo outing Coward, still a fave a my house. Objects of Unknown Function is as fine a representation of Seabrook's total engagement with his instruments and his intellect as one could imagine. 

Guitarists Dustin Wong and Gregory Uhlmann are a couple of Angelenos whose lives and careers have followed circuitous paths. Wong grew up in Japan and played with Baltimore outfits Ponytail and Ecstatic Sunshine before spending time in Brooklyn. Uhlmann's a Chicago native whose resume includes work with Perfume Genius, Meg Duffy, Anna Butterss, and Jeremiah Chiu. Wong saw Uhlmann playing improv with Patrick Shiroishi and sensed a kindred spirit. 

After playing some shows together, Wong and Uhlmann recorded the improvisations on Water Map -- their newie on Stephen Buono's Otherly Love label -- on a rainy L.A. afternoon, then overdubbed keyboards for added ambience. The resultant jams hit like minimalist dreamscapes, redolent of the influence of '70s German synth experimentalists Harmonia, or the ruminative side of '80s King Crimson. Rainy day, dream away indeed.

Finally, I became aware of the New York City Guitar Orchestra's new collection Spectra: New Music for Guitar Orchestra because of the inclusion therein of my virtual pal, shredder turned electroacoustic composer Marco Oppedisano's darkly tinged, echolalic "Two of a Kind," but there's lots more to recommend this generous (32 tracks! 17 new works!) digital treasure trove. 

Joao Luiz's "Three Brazilian Pieces," for instance, pay homage in turn to the martial art capoeira, the Amazonian toada style that incorporates indigenous and African influences, and the northeastern maracutu style with its contrasting rhythms. Some pieces, like Frederic Hand's "Chorale" or Andrew York's "Catwalk," have the airy spaciousness of Pat Metheny's midwestern sky music. Jonathan Pieslak's "Ambienspheres" wafts its way through several sections to conjure the sense impression of a drug-induced haze. William Anderson's "Folksongs" (in six movements) has a guitar quartet deftly embroidering around familiar melodies. Gyan Riley's 16-minute "The Landloper" layers percussion effects, evolving lines, shifting accents, and extended techniques to create an expansive sound world.

In case you hadn't guessed, I love guitar anthologies, and this is an exceptional one, replete with enticing ear candy for six-string enthusiasts. Dig in!