Kastning, Kevin/Mark Wingfield: Eleven Rooms

Kevin Kastning has been very busy the last few years releasing albums at a fairly brisk pace. On his latest titled Eleven Rooms he again teams with English guitarist Mark Wingfield to produce an intriguing album of guitar sounds. Kastning is getting quite famous for his own custom made guitars, like the 36-string double contraguitar and 30-string contra-alto guitar. He also plays classical guitar and mandolin. Wingfield adds electric guitar.

This is one of those albums that you just need to sit back to and concentrate on the music. Kastning turns in another virtuoso performance as his delicate flutterings, arpeggios and chordal structures offer highlight after highlight. Wingfield compliments his style nicely offering mostly softly lit ambient lines and ethereal textures.

The album was influenced by Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675), so you can think of these pieces as impressionistic soundscapes, improvised by the artists. The paintings were placed in different rooms, hence the album's title.

Instrumental guitar does not get much more complex than this as the different layers create colour and depth, just like the paintings these pieces are based on. Fans of avant-garde guitar and instrumental music might find this a very interesting release and worth checking out.

Released on Greydisc Records.

Track Listing:
1. A Letter at a Window: Opening (6:05)
2. American Midwest: Touch (3:27)
3. The Slumber (5:21)
4. A Letter at a Window: Message (7:50)
5. A Letter at a Window: Epilogue (15:03)
6. A Shadow and Folding I (5:29)
7. A Shadow and Folding II (1:48)
8. The Eighth Room (8:51)
9. A Balance in Light I (6:06)
10. A Balance in Light II (5:35)
11. The Allegory of Painting (3:51)

Added: March 18th 2016
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Artist's Official Site
Hits: 2308
Language: english

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