This piece will appeal to all of the quaint, gentle souls out there, anyone willing to enjoy a blissful moment of aural escapism. ‘Rapids’ is exactly that, a fragment of stillness in an overly chaotic reality, a corner of peace and tenderness that’s incredibly rewarding and evocative. Exuding tons of classical elegance, the record sees Martin Lloyd Howard craft a nuanced composition for classical guitar, an endeavour directly tied to his roots as a classically trained musician.
Also dubbing in folk, blues, rock and modern guitar playing, Martin can be considered a true connoisseur of his instrument: steel-strung acoustic and slide guitars are all part of his background, next to the classical and electric ones. Delving both in original and covers, Howard draws from a lifetime of experience and wisdom, something that allows him to connect with the listeners on a deeper level. He’s not here to impress or fulfil any trend; instead, he focuses on pure, unfiltered artistic expression.
Delving deeper into the record, Howard explains: “This is an original piece arranged for solo guitar. It started life as an exercise for left-hand fretboard stretching and for building little-finger strength and dexterity. But it developed into a full piece that became reminiscent of a river foaming over rapids, then eddying and pooling into a smoother flow, before reverting to streaming over rocks and rapids.”
Recommended! Discover ‘Rapids’ now: