Hip hop
Solo guitar music has scarcely had such a devoted global audience. A wellspring of talent across the globe have been united by the internet, creating digital communities who are able to commune and collaborate. Often pegged – to some degree of controversy – as ‘primitive’, in reality these musicians are building incredible solo structures from fragments of folk traditions, the blue lineage, country picking, and beyond.
Kicked off by innovators such as John Fahey and Robbie Basho, American Primitive guitar has often been a stubbornly masculine arena. Solo guitarists such as Linda Cohen may have made majestic work, but preconceptions surrounding this arena remain.
A new blossoming of female talent are approaching these traditions from fresh vantage points, resulting in startling ideas, and some wonderful music.
—
Muireann Bradley
17-year-old Muireann Bradley arguably spurred this article into being. A flurry of viral videos across lockdown saw this incredible musician gain a huge audience online, the sight of this precocious, unbelievably youthful chopping through some of blues and ragtime guitar’s core texts igniting immense discussion.
Taking it all in her stride, Muireann released her engaging debut album ‘I Kept These Old Blues’ at the end of the year, showing incredible technical skills and no small degree of personality. Stealing the show on Jools Holland’s high-profile New Year celebrations, she’s a softly assured trailblazer who enraptures all who come across her work.
—
Gwenifer Raymond
A Welsh guitarist based in Brighton, Gwenifer Raymond takes a razor blade to primitive pathways. There’s a punk-like defiance of the rules at play in her work, alongside stunning technical abilities. Two studio albums – ‘You Never Were Much Of A Dancer’ and ‘Strange Lights Over Garth Mountain’ – have lit a trail, her compositions overwhelming you with their endless torrents of information.
Live, she’s something else entirely. Imagine John Fahey’s spartan hieroglyphs emphatically accelerated, the immense picking of her right hand amplified to something truly extraordinary. Trance-like exhortations, Gwenifer Raymond is a one-of-a-kind talent.
—
Yasmin Williams
Guitar virtuoso Yasmin Williams is part of no tradition but her own, but listening to her allows you to locate parallels with some of her solo peers. Blending aspects of blues and folk with the rock and hip-hop of her childhood, Yasmin infuses finger-picking brilliance with tapping techniques, creating a whirlwind of noise on just one instrument.
Perpetually evolving, her 2021 album ‘Urban Driftwood’ is a fascinating example of creative cross-pollination, the sound of a guitarist asking: why not? ‘Sunshowers’ is a beautiful opener, its sketch-like appeal worthy of Basho, while the folk melodies of ‘Dragonfly’ seep instantly into your soul. Closing with the wonderful ‘After The Storm’, this is a solo guitar record to cherish.
—
Marisa Anderson
Portland’s Marisa Anderson is a name that should be familiar to anyone with a passing interest in the American Primitive tradition. For a while, she felt something like a lone feminine voice within that movement, building an idiosyncratic catalogue that skirts the fringes of blues, country, and other fingerpicking tributaries.
A player with a deep sense of feeling she also has a questing spirit, with each project seeming to sit on its own terms. The wonderful ‘Still, Here’ arrived in 2022, ranging from the glacial slide guitar of ‘The Fire This Time’ to the skeletal, bittersweet ‘The Crack Where The Light Gets In’.
—
Sarah Louise
North Carolina based Sarah Louise is a solitary soul. Returning to Appalachia in adulthood, she re-immersed herself in familiar landscapes, and there’s a wonderful sense of landscape and belonging in her work. Allowing each piece to take root – she continually references her music against plants, herbs, and fungi – Sarah Louise blends passages of ambience with a penchant for pirouetting primitivism.
Startling 2015 album ‘Field Guide’ remains a key touchstone, but her evolution since then has criss-crossed between bubbling electronics, field recordings, and more. As a bonus, check out her duo project House And Land, alongside Sally Anne Morgan, for more out-there folk parallel musicianship.
—
Words: Robin Murray
