For his forthcoming album, Incarnation (31st March), French-born Raoul Eden has clearly taken much inspiration from the tougher and more dramatic side of instrumental guitar music. Listening to the steadily increasing tempo of Millions Now Living from Incarnation, assumedly played with fingerpicks for more attack and note focus, the player who springs to mind is Daniel Bachman, particularly his faster-paced songs, like Won’t You Cross over to That Other Shore from River.
That said, Raoul’s interest in Eastern and oriental music comes through strongly here, emphasised well by his sharp picking hand, on songs like the slightly weird slide piece The Ghost Hound, which ups the eeriness with spooky high bendy notes. Also effective is Will Never Die, a speeded-up raga-style tune played with only a slightly lighter hand than its sibling piece Millions Now Living and bringing to mind Martin Kirkegaard’s Tar Gui album and Chuck Johnson’s Crows in the Basilica, with the technique to match both players.
Of course, on songs like Will Never Die, the ghost of Jack Rose looms large, as he always will on heavily syncopated, raga-style guitar songs. Raag Manifestos is a monumental piece of work, and its influence resonates through this music, but that’s not to say that this album is in any way a derivative of any of the above musicians; Raoul’s style is clearly his own, and it is no mean feat to carve your own niche in the narrow parameters of solo acoustic guitar music.
This originality is present throughout these six songs, keeping the whole album feeling fresh and dynamic. A piece like Beat your Head with Glorious Songs is happy to use its extended run time of over eight minutes to create a stop-start momentum that slips into a tight rhythm as the tune develops. This one leads into the final song L’Oeil se Ferme (the eye closes), a solo guembri (or guimbri, an African bass lute – also see Joshua Abrams) tune full of space that shifts the character of the record. This playful piece (the guembri is a hobby instrument for Raoul) is full of warmth and the right kind of naivety, which radiates energy and the simple joy of music. And it is the joy of experimenting and soaking up cultures and influences that washes over this album. Raoul is a musician clearly finding pleasure in playing music and looking to create a sound that is both a tribute to the sources he has found important and one that is unique to him. And, really, that’s what it’s all about.
Incarnation is released on 31st March 2024 (Vinyl/CD)
Beat your Head with Glorious Songs (Live Session)
Raoul Eden Tour Dates
supporting Sophia Djebel Rose
18.01 MILANO IT @Iscian
19.01 TREVISO IT @Uglydogs
20.01 WIEN AT @VEKKS
21.01 TELC CZ @Old Cemetery
22.01 BRNO CZ @Gallery Pomezik
24.01 NOVI MAROF HR @Stara Skola
25.01 BUDAPEST HU @A38
26.01 LIPTOVSKY MIKULAS SK @Diera Do Sveta
27.01 MISKOLC HU @Tinta Social
30.01 SZEGED HU @Grand Café
01.02 HAMBURG DE @Centro Social
09.02 PRAGUE CZ @Punctum
12.02 EUPEN BE @Meakusma