ESP Instituteからペダル・スティール・ギターを中心とした生演奏主体のフォーキーなアンビエント・アルバムが登場！Ry Cooder（ライ・クーダー ）あたりのファンにもオススメ！

ロサンゼルスを拠点とするマルチインストゥルメンタリストRaymond Richardsが贈る、ペダル・スティールの新たなる可能性。プロデューサーとしても活躍する彼は、The 60 Watt KidやThe Summer Wardrobeなどのバンドで知られ、CalexicoやMark Laneganとのコラボレーションでも高い評価を得てきた。

本作『Sand Paintings』では、彼の代名詞とも言えるペダル・スティール・ギターの演奏がさらに進化。CalexicoのJohn Convertinoをドラムに迎え、様々な弦楽器とブラスが織りなすサウンドスケープは、アメリカン・ルーツ・ミュージックと現代的なアンビエント・サウンドの融合を体現している。

オープニング「Badwater Basin」の力強いコードから、「Monument Valley」「Saguaro」「Deer On Hwy 80」に至るまで、荒涼とした自然の風景と人間の内面を同時に描き出す音楽的叙事詩。前作『The Lost Art Of Wandering』で確立されたスタイルをさらに深化させ、映画的なスケール感を獲得している。

20年以上にわたるキャリアで培ったRaymond Richardsの音楽的哲学が凝縮された本作。アメリカン・ミュージックの伝統と革新を同時に体感できる、コレクター必携の1枚。

A1. Badwater Basin
A2. Rattlesnake Pass
A3. Monument Valley
A4. 2 Cent Mambo
A5. Saguaro
B6. Zion Lodge
B7. Farrington Dome
B8. Deer On Hwy 80
B9. Mescal Shakes
B10. Sonora

There was a long time I considered Raymond Richards the ultimate secret weapon. There were sounds he could make that other people just couldn’t. Pure, whole, yet complex sounds. The pedal steel is an extremely niche instrument outside of its Country confines, but its sheer and transcendent depth has never failed to floor me. Raymond’s ear for implementing the steel into literally anything has always been uncanny. After decades of being savvy to his work ethic, multi-faceted studio skills and overall sense of musical honesty, it became a priority for me to channel some of this into narratives through the ESP Institute and get his stories told. Without further recounting the history and trajectory of our musical relationship (see the press release for 2020’s critically-acclaimed album 'The Lost Art Of Wandering'), I can whole-heartedly confirm this sophomore release, 'Sand Paintings', opens an even wider door into Raymond’s visceral, contemplative world. The cast of players has elaborated to include Calexico’s John Convertino on drums and percussion, a bevy of eccentric stringed instruments and even a hint of brass to collectively stratify context for the pedal steel. Through diversifying the timbral palette, we invite an increased soundstage acuity but also reveal untapped wells of emotion for the listener, perhaps even testing cultural literacies. One foot remains in our established ambient realm, while the other steps toward grand cinematic gestures, and despite the dense, insurmountable emotion in these songs, there is a stoic singularity, like a lonesome cowboy pulling up his boot straps to endure another day. 'Badwater Basin' opens with courage, an enormous chord evoking Raymond’s image of “hard dawn”, but in navigating through the dramatic depictions of 'Monument Valley', 'Saguaro' and 'Deer On Hwy 80', we grapple with a cloaked vulnerability—weathered by the elements, beaten down and alone, yet still madly in love with the world. –Lovefingers