Arn, Eric

Nearly four years to the date after the release of Higher Order, Eric Arn’s previous release for Carbon Records, we are releasing his latest collection of guitar excursions.

The songs on fixe Idee have a rolling, rambling guitar feel that builds sonic lattices which drift in the air like steel spiderwebs in the summer sky. The record opens with the American Primitive-esque storytelling saga Impromptu pour le fantôme, setting the stage for a nice variety of playing and recording styles to follow.

The more pastoral tracks "Sunrills" and "Gutbucket" are nicely interspersed with the more aw, lo-fi slide-based joints "Rhyolite" and "Ewigkeitsgasse", each with variations of tipsy tones dancing off the edge of the fretboard to bathe in a swirling concoction of acoustic fantasia. Fixe Idee finally moves back into the Primitive landscape with the raag "Melathys", then the closer, the perfectly titled "Bear", completely unraveled starts with more spastic and experimental Derek Bailey leanings, then eventually settles into more rhythmic patterns, and an exhaling finale. This is a record made by someone whose passion for the guitar as a physical instrument creating sound for enjoyment, and as a catalyst for getting right with the Universe, is deeply evident.