Graham Elks & Phil Crewe
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Atmospheric Electric/Acoustic Instrumentals
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Atmospheric Images is a nine song instrumental album by the British guitar duo of Graham Elks and Phil Crewe. Reminiscent compositionally and texturally of some of Craig Chaquico's last few acoustic instrumental albums, Elks and Crewe use a combination of acoustic, clean electric and heavily overdriven/heavily delayed electric tones. The opening two tracks, "Secrets & Lies" and "Dancing Horses" are good examples of the guitarists combining all three tone groups into the same composition - the result, a track a good deal heavier than what you'd find on a Chaquico CD. Most of the remaining tracks are somewhat mellower in their arrangements and instrumentation. You might call Atmospheric Images 'heavy new age' - at least where it applies to the tracks with the overdriven electric guitar leads. But it definitely takes it out of the 'background music' category. Lush melodies are the order of the day, as Elks and Crewe put special emphasis on creating something memorable in each composition.
Graham started playing the guitar in 1984, and began writing his own songs soon afterwards.Phil was seventeen before he picked up the guitar, and later attended a music college to study classical guitar. Both guitarists logged time in a number of bands, and in 1998, Graham released the first of three solo instrumental albums, called "Kingdom Of Rock". Graham and Phil hooked up in 1999 while working on a project as session guitarists. Atmospheric Images was released in February of 2000. They spent 2001 recording their second album, "Enchanted Horizons", and played a number of festivals in the summer to promote both albums. 2002 saw the completion of "Visions", with a new, up-tempo, live feel - the CD should be available in early 2003.
Elks and Crewe continue to push the boundaries of instrumental guitar music even further, while still retaining all the quality, melody and diverseness that has become their trademark.
Contact Information
Atmospheric Images
P.O. Box 1402
Stoke-on-Trent
ST6 8PS
United Kingdom
E-mail:
Graham Elks & Phil Crewe
Web site:
www.aimusiconline.com
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Monochrome Cherubs
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Fluid, Organic, Bluesy Rock
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Taking their musical cues from artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Rory Gallagher, and Skip James the Monochrome Cherubs (Tim Lacy, guitars/vocals; Dan Cartwright, drums, Colin Almquist, bass), submitted their CD-R Hypnotica Del Sol. Lacy goes for a fluid, organic, bluesy sound - the sound of the soul - when playing and composing, and the music reflects that kind of late '60s/early '70s vibe. Lacy has an unorthodox solo style - imagine a combination of a psychedelic medicine man and a drunken sailor, plugging a Strat into a stack of amps, teetering on the edge of dissonance. Nothing out there to directly compare it to. He uses this to great effect on his instrumental Hendrix cover "Peace In Mississippi". Lacy's vocal style is probably one of those you either love or hate immediately - no middle ground here. Check out Hypnotica Del Sol as an example of rock music getting back to its roots.
Tim left New York City for Woodstock in 1996, but previously, had gained a lot of experience working as an assistant to producer Paul O'Neill. They worked on three Savatage albums, including "Gutter Ballet" and the first Badlands album, with Jake E. Lee. Tim also worked as an in-house sound engineer for SIR studios in New York from 1991 to 1994. Longing to return to what had made him fall in love with rock music in the first place, Tim "shedded" for about two years, and finally got to work putting together a project studio ("The Mambo Room"). He met Dan and Colin in 2001, and the band clicked right from the get go.
The Monochrome Cherubs are set to do a follow up to Hypnotica Del Sol, and plan to keep the same vibe going for as long as they can - infusing great music with life.
Contact Information
Monochrome Cherubs
C/O "The Mambo Room" Studios
175 Van Dale Road
Woodstock, New York 12498
United States
E-mail:
Monochrome Cherubs
Web site:
www.monochromecherubs.com
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