Sci-fi psycho-Western psychedelic improv from Michael Garfield

Boulder-based musician Michael Garfield is offering a free download of Daylighting, an EP of acoustic guitar and effects improvisations. Don't jump to conclusions based on "acoustic guitar improv" though -- this sounds more like some of the sonic explorations that came out of the Robert Fripp/Brian Eno collaborations than some...

By Cory Casciato

June 24, 2010

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Boulder-based musician Michael Garfield is offering a free download of Daylighting, an EP of acoustic guitar and effects improvisations. Don't jump to conclusions based on "acoustic guitar improv" though -- this sounds more like some of the sonic explorations that came out of the Robert Fripp/Brian Eno collaborations than some hippie "jamming" on an acoustic in a park somewhere. It was recorded live at this years MAPS Psychedelic Science in the 21st Century Conference, which should give you some idea of what you're in for (spoiler: it's real trippy).

The five-track, twenty minute EP is full of odd timbres and textures, but the occasional splash of melody erupts and there's a strange, sci-fi psycho-Western feel to a lot of it -- let's just say if they'd ever done a psychedelic drug sequence on Firefly, this would have worked perfectly as the accompaniment. It's occasionally beautiful, frequently evocative and never less than interesting. And it's free. Download it from Bandcamp, or listen via the embedded player below.

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