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 When UK-native James Blackshaw
plays his 12-string guitar, something spiritual takes place.
Performing and recording since 2003, his name is frequently
mentioned as one of the foremost modern solo acoustic guitarists.
Now at the age of 25, Blackshaw, an untrained musician born
and still residing in the suburban environs of Greater London,
draws as much inspiration from early religious music, South-Asian
folk music and composers such as Arvo Part, Simeon Ten Holt,
Steve Reich and Charlemagne Palestine as he does from John Fahey,
Robbie Basho and the early Takoma Records roster, constantly
breaking boundaries in what could be conceived as a somewhat
limited medium.
In his part-improvised and part-written songs, Blackshaw makes
expert use of Eastern and Western scales, chord changes reminiscent
of European classical music and incredibly intricate fingerpicking
patterns to make a sound that is both challengingly minimalistic,
yet warm and approachable to anybody who might hear it, with
a rare sensitivity that conveys both immense beauty, hope and
sadness. Blackshaw has been featured in a range of magazines
across the world including The Seattle Weekly, The
Washington Post, Italy's Blow Up magazine and
most recently in a full - page article in the October 2006 issue
of The Wire.
His last album, "O True Believers" (Important Records/Bo'Weavil
Recordings) also received enthusiastic reviews in Pitchfork,
Fakejazz, Uncut, The Wire, Signal
To Noise, The Observer (one of the UK's most highly-regarded
national newspapers) and many other printed and online magazines.
James has toured Japan, Europe, Scandinavia and UK in 2005 and
2006, playing with artists such as Sir Richard Bishop, Espers,
Brightblack Morning Light, Feathers, Greg Davis, Jack Rose,
Glenn Jones, Sharron Kraus, Simon Finn, Marissa Nadler, Alexander
Tucker, Josephine Foster, Seiichi Yamamoto of The Boredoms (with
whom he improvised with) and Christina Carter.
"The Cloud of Unknowing" will be released by New York's Tompkins
Square label on May 1, 2007, followed by reissues of his earlier,
out-of-print, limited edition albums this summer. U.S. tour
plans are in the works for summer 2007.
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Purchase James Blackshaw's Music
Online:
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| Amazon.com |
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