Following on from his debut EP Recôncavo released earlier this year on Phantom Limb (and reviewed here), Brooklyn-based fingerstyle guitarist J.R. Bohannon is set to release his debut full-length album Dusk through Shahzad Ismaily‘s figureight records this 1st November 2019. The accompanying press describes Dusk as a deep, intuitive study of the guitar in the American folk tradition imbued with influences from minimalism, Latin, & Greek music. His compositions for 6 and 12-string guitar sit somewhere between the dulcet, pastoral bliss of pioneers such as Leo Kottke or Robbie Basho, the passionate fluidity of Gabor Szabo, and the Southern charm of Ry Cooder. He marries this with a love of American minimalism – greats like Philip Glass and Terry Riley as well as modern acts Tortoise and Gastr Del Sol – and with this multitude of inspirations, his own compositions take a form carefully nuanced, both spacious and fluid.
Bohannon says he was determined not to write “just another acoustic guitar album,” just listening to lead single “Reflections of an American Dream” (out now) makes it more than apparent this is so much more. Also, the guest appearances of drummer Greg Fox and avant-jazz bassist Luke Stewart later on the album and a track described as a Black Sabbath ballad performed by Appalachian musicians suggests this is going to be anything but ordinary.
Upcoming Live Dates
4th Sept – Pine Hill, NY – Pine Hill Community Center
6th Sept – Raleigh, NC – Hopscotch Music Festival
5th Oct – New York, NY – Mercury Lounge w/ Charlie Parr
Dusk will be available digitally and on limited vinyl. Pre-order from Bandcamp HERE