If you thought Fleet Foxes’ White Winter Hymnal evoked the feeling of deepest winter, you should check out this beautifully odd and solitary project from Arkansas-based multi-instrumentalist Chaz Knapp to hear how it’s really done. Chaz is a traditional instrumentalist and field recorder, whose Microfolk series highlighted him as a musical collagist. Winter Music contrasts Microfolk (which was recorded in the summer heat) in that Chaz took his instruments to various locations in the rugged terrain of Northwest Arkansas in the depths of winter, recording with tape loops and improvisations while his fingers froze and his nylon string guitar neck shrank in the cold.
The result is something of a remote and isolated audio diary, as much documenting the playing of Chaz as the sounds of the environments he brings in, from rushing water to whistling winds. Chaz’s nylon string guitar creates gentle chord brushes alongside the natural sounds, and his world-weary voice combines nicely with the soft strings, suggesting vulnerability and being at the mercy of the elements. wm jan23 24(i) is a nice example of this, with the sounds of the river at the forefront and the delicate guitar work nestled behind.
Elsewhere, the use of high harmonium notes on wm jan19 24(ii) brings an eerier and more anxious mood to the music, more akin to Daniel Bachman’s more recent excursions, until the drones give way to warm nylon guitar chords and gentle vocals, lightening the character of the music.
Contrasting the soft burrs of the guitar is the comparatively metallic harshness of the strummed banjo on pieces like wm jan23 24(ii). Here, the almost urgent chords are paired with an uneasy, tricky-to-decipher vocal and sweeps of (I think) bansuri flute. The combination is very effective in creating an atmosphere of anxiety and isolation that is quite affecting and goes well with the weirder tracks, like the windswept wm dec11 24. Here, the harmonium blends with some kind of tattoo and shards of wind sound that again suggest the dangers of these locations in the winter.
Easing the tension, as is their uncanny ability, are the sounds of birds permeating wm jan15 25. Little high chirps spar with goose honks, while rain sounds and sparse guitar notes hang out behind. Although the recording structure is consistent with the album, this one feels more meditative and beautifully contrasts the tenser pieces.
This recording hit me in a way similar to 2024’s Dirt Bike Vacation, a lo-fi album of Charles ‘Poppy Bob’ Walker’s music, curated by Cameron Knowler. Like that record, Winter Music feels close to the earth and very powerful in its rudimentary sound. The environment here is as important an ingredient as Chaz’s playing and singing, which is accomplished, measured and fascinating throughout. Winter Music is a unique, solitary album, one to become fully immersed and lost in. I absolutely love it.
Winter Music (December 5th, 2025) Aural Canyon
Bandcamp (Digital/Cassette): https://auralcanyonmusic.bandcamp.com/album/winter-music