Browse by Artist: NEWMAN, HARRIS

Artist:	NEWMAN, HARRIS
Title:	Non-Sequiturs
Label:	STRANGE ATTRACTORS AUDIO HOUSE
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	SAAH 018CD

"Newman is a finger-style steel-string acoustic guitarist possessing a remarkably detailed and lush sound, and he is creating some of the most lyrical compositions for the instrument to be heard anywhere. Non-Sequiturs his debut release, a fabulous album of alternately effervescent and deeply mysterious acoustic guitar grandeur. Newman's acoustic finger-picking dances and swaggers, creating a sunny expanse of tunes that are augmented by stark, introspective passages. Much like Fahey's classic 1967 album The Yellow Princess, Non-Sequiturs juxtaposes giddy, pastoral songs against heady, experimental sound excursions. Opening with the galloping pace of 'Around About Thirty-Six', resonating steel-strings halos refract gilded light against the moody drone corridors of 'I Fought the Lottery'. For a few of the tunes, Newman is joined by Montreal-area percussionist Bruce Cawdron, and the combination at times exhumes the exploratory genre-blending spirit of Sandy Bull's first couple of albums; (the muted, mallet-driven percussion grooves of 'The Bullheaded Stranger' evoke Billy Higgins-style jazziness as an undercurrent for the tumbling, glistening guitar lines to burble over. Combining solo acoustic songs with lap-steel, percussion and bowed cymbal effects, Harris Newman craftily laces everything together to create a stunningly cohesive, gorgeous set of compositions."

Artist:	NEWMAN, HARRIS
Title:	Accidents with Nature and Each Other
Label:	STRANGE ATTRACTORS AUDIO HOUSE
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	SAAH 029CD

"It is not unusual for the world-beating Montreal, Canada underground music scene to gestate and nurture a genre-bending artist of Harris Newman's caliber. Yet Newman's unique approach to the compositional acoustic steel-string style sets him apart from the herd, both in his hometown and far beyond. Newman's strengths lie in his dexterous ability to borrow from the traditions of the steel string guitar movement while propelling it forward into postmodern realms. Accidents with Nature and Each Other has time-honored solo acoustic grandeur on full display, but Newman brings many more variables to the table. Experiments with the raw sounds of the naked steel string and a wider palette of instrumentation augment beautifully his particular brand of guitar soli. The result is a rather diverse array of sounds and structures, all centered on the acoustic guitar. Languid, gorgeous melodies and hefty fingerpicking workouts bump up against ghostly harmonics and acoustic drones. A trio of solo workouts mark the beginning of the album, harkening both the aggressive trajectory of Leo Kottke and pastoral terrain of Robbie Basho."

Artist:	NEWMAN, HARRIS
Title:	Decorated
Label:	STRANGE ATTRACTORS AUDIO HOUSE
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	SAAH 052CD

"Of the players involved in the recent resurgence of fingerstyle guitar, Harris Newman has established himself as a primary envoy on the modern day steel-stringer shortlist. As with the case of his brothers-in-arms Jack Rose, Glenn Jones and Steffen Basho-Junghans, each of whom borrow from the past traditions of mavericks Fahey, Basho et al but have re-invented the sound and style with fresh perspectives, Newman distinguishes his music even further with a very idiosyncratic sound. In contrast to the name of the album, Harris Newman opts for a somewhat stripped-down, almost minimalist approach to Decorated. Subtle and introspective, the first half of the album showcases Newman's brand of solo acoustic guitar. Mood and color take precedence, as Newman's fingerpicking weaves tonal spirals across each composition. Melodies bob and weave from alternate pacing, balanced between space and sound like strands of tinsel clinging to a tree. Marking a stylistic turning point in the album, 'Blues for Vilhelm' is a humming incantation for lapsteel guitar, a minimalist sound pool rippling ever outwards. Following with the languid improvisation 'Golden Valleys as Seen From the East,' Newman stretches out and explores intoxicating themes, coaxing out melodies which quickly blossom and decay in slowly unfurling spools. Newman picks up the electric guitar with 'Thee Opera House Stomp,' and backed by the forward momentum of drummer Eric Craven, the song embarks from a country-blues riff headlong into serpentine trajectory reminiscent of the arty twang of Gastr del Sol. Extracting elements of folk and blues and exposing it bare, Harris Newman dresses up his music in cinematic, post-rock attire. Decorated is accessible solo guitar music for the experimentally-minded, a meditative electro-acoustic melding of Leo Kottke and Jim O'Rourke, illustrating why Newman's own take on the tradition sets him apart from the pack."

Artist:	NEWMAN, HARRIS
Title:	Decorated
Label:	STRANGE ATTRACTORS AUDIO HOUSE
Format:	LP
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	SAAH 052LP

LP version. "Of the players involved in the recent resurgence of fingerstyle guitar, Harris Newman has established himself as a primary envoy on the modern day steel-stringer shortlist. As with the case of his brothers-in-arms Jack Rose, Glenn Jones and Steffen Basho-Junghans, each of whom borrow from the past traditions of mavericks Fahey, Basho et al but have re-invented the sound and style with fresh perspectives, Newman distinguishes his music even further with a very idiosyncratic sound. In contrast to the name of the album, Harris Newman opts for a somewhat stripped-down, almost minimalist approach to Decorated."

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