There’s mounting excitement over the forthcoming album début from the young Chicago acoustic guitarist Ryley Walker. After a debut EP back in October last year that garnered praise and comparisons to Davy Graham, Bert Jansch, Nick Drake and Tim Buckley you can understand why that is. He spent several years playing in the Chicago experimental free/noise music scene before taking the latest turn on his musical journey which was inspired by some of his heroes, among them Tim Hardin, Tim Buckley, and Bert Jansch. Take a listen to the title track of the EP below The West Wind
The EP also featured a guitar duet with Daniel Bachman whose psychedelic appalachia offerings were mentioned on FRUK back in October just as they were both embarking on a European tour together. Walker’s not one to place all his eggs in one basket as you can hear from this live experimental sounding Toronto recording featuring Ben Billington kicking out some amazing beats.
His debut album will be released on Tompkins Square Label in April.