***Elijah McLaughlin and Caleb Willitz lean hard into their improvisational skills on their debut duo release for Centripetal Force, Morning Improvisations / Evening Abstractions. Elijah McLaughlin, a Chicago-based guitarist who has released three well-regarded albums as bandleader of the Elijah McLaughlin Ensemble (Astral Spirits, Tompkins Square), and his long time friend and collaborator, Caleb Willitz, a recording engineer, producer, and sound artist, are in their element on this album, as each musician is constantly feeding off the other’s creativity. The eight tracks that make up Morning Improvisations / Evening Abstractions are replete with experimentation, and each performance displays a building excitement and exudes inspiration. Willitz, who also worked with the likes of Jeff Parker and Bill MacKay, and McLaughlin set up the ideal conditions to invoke the best of their abilities, allowing for even the recording process itself to take on a more spontaneous spirit. The duo set up camp in Willitz’s studio to work without the restraints of time, a move that allowed total freedom to create adventurously. Utilizing a refurbished 8-track tape machine, the pair was only restricted by the 25-minute limit of their analogue reels of tape. With McLaughlin playing an electric guitar routed through stereo amplifiers and various effects and Willitz playing piano while simultaneously controlling a tape delay with a foot pedal, the two developed ethereal and transcendental soundscapes that exist somewhere between free jazz, post-rock, and ambient music. From there, the two artists picked the best takes from their sessions and exhaustively mined them...
LP $30.75
06/14/2024