Akiyama, Tetuzi & Anla Courtis: Naranja Songs

On Naranja Songs we have Japanese guitarist Tetuzi Akiyama and Buenos Aires guitarist Anla Courtis improvising their way around the acoustic guitar. The album was recorded in 2008 but I am not sure of the official release date.

Although the players are talented there are some major problems with this release. The lack of ear pleasing melodies is a real deal breaker for me. With a running time of almost forty minutes I expected the occasional note to stick but this was sadly not the case. The album is also very minimalistic. The first track "Mind Mochileros" is very sparse and slow paced and at over fourteen minutes is just too long. Sure, there are some nice tonalities and timbres here and there but for me it just isn't enough. The second track "Springs & Strings", although much shorter, is too atonal for my liking, featuring experimental e-bow-like guitar workouts that felt more like noise than actual music. "The Citrico Vibe" and "Los Frets Nómades" are both too slow and sporadic with the former featuring gentle picking over droning bow work.

Perhaps Naranja Songs is just too experimental for my tastes. If you like solo guitar taken into extreme avant-garde territory you might want to try this. For everyone else it is a resounding no. Sorry guys.

Track Listing:
1. Mind Mochileros
2. Springs & Strings
3. The Citrico Vibe
4. Los Frets Nómades

Added: November 19th 2014
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Label's Official Site
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Language: english

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