The American Chuck Johnson released albums under various artist names, filled almost exclusively with guitar music. The word 'music' can even be omitted from his early experimental work; his later work is sometimes referred to as country post-rock. In California, plagued by wildfires and gentrification, Johnson and many other creative people have seen their affordable studios and workshops destroyed
… in recent years. To keep memories of these locations alive, he delved into his personal archives. He managed to extract reverb and echoes from recordings he had previously made at some lost locations, and then applied them to The Cinder Grove. So the term ambient is doubly appropriate when describing the sounds on this album. The pedal steel guitar plays a leading role, blending seamlessly with the sounds of the synthesizers and electronics. The sense of loss that resounds through the pieces is sombre but not without optimism. A mourning process documented in an exceptional way. (JV)more
