The expanded and definitive double LP
edition of Kevin Drumm's groundbreaking first album, originally released in 1997.
Featuring some of the most fiercely abstract and organic guitar work ever heard,
Drumm's debut is both jarring and completely alien. Dubbed by some as
the greatest prepared guitar record ever recorded it prefigured (and
continues to trump) almost an entire decade or so of contemporary
"out" music that would follow. Beautiful and completely essential.
This edition includes an entire fourth side of previously unreleased
recordings from Drumm's personal archive, all recorded in the same era
as the original album. It also includes entirely new artwork featuring
the body of the actual guitar used to record the album.
"Looking back at Kevin through his formidably individual tunnel of
works, it's hard to remember that his first official recorded statement
would be caught sneaking into bed alongside history's milestones of
"solo instrument improvisation." Or that, in turn, it also would be
caught trying to sneak out of the house built by Father Jazz, into a
backyard that still hasn't quite been fenced off yet. Those running
around Chicago chasing down the sound in the mid-90's should've
already known about this guy and his contributions both in and out of
the relative spotlight. For those far from the city winds, thankfully
they might've gotten the message in the form of this missive. In the
afterglow of later love letters titled “Sheer Hellish Miasma” and
“Imperial Distortion”, it's absolutely overdue that this first musty
green postcard be dug out, polished off, and framed.
Judged by its understated title, "Self-Titled" aka "Guitar" is incredibly
literal -- what you hear is what you get. In the simplest
considerations, the ensuing connotations and possibilities are wide
open; the real-time velocity of urgent decision and movement are
wrapped in a clearly-mapped compositional endurance that continues to
stand firmly in the relative spotlights of this day. No surprise then,
that even all these years later, we would still be trying to figure
out exactly at which table Kevin should squarely sit.
They say that every kid who heard this record immediately went out and
grabbed a busted guitar with a scratchy selector switch, ready to
subject their friends to fuzzy pauses of amp hum. I know of at least
four."
-- C. Spencer Yeh, spring 2010, Brooklyn NY
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Kevin Drumm: guitar
recorded directly to tape in fall, 1996
Tracks A1-C1 first issued in 1997 (Perdition Plastics CD, per007)
Tracks:
Disc One (45 RPM) - A1...7:36, A2...3:03, A3...9:57, B1...5:28, B2...9:47, B3...3:41
Disc Two (33RPM) - C1...17:09, D1...8:24 (Previously Unreleased), D2...11:17 (Previously Unreleased)
Thin Wrist Edition produced by C. Spencer Yeh and Peter Kolovos
Cover Concept: Kevin Drumm
Artwork: Peter Kolovos "KD Guitar, April 2010"
Mastered by Rashad Becker, D&M Berlin, August 2009
Pressed at Pallas Germany
2 x 180 Gram Vinyl with Digital Download, Heavy "Tip-On" Gatefold Jacket with spot gloss & matte finishes
and textured de-bossing. Two full color inserts
Released May 2010
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