Elliott Sharp
The Velocity of Hue
(Emanem)
Time Out New York, January 1-8, 2004
Many words have been used to describe the distinctive oeuvre of downtown guitarist-composer Elliott Sharp. Gentle and soothing, however, aren't among them. That's not to say that there isn't any subtlety in the pummeling calculus-core onslaught of Sharp's late, lamented band, Carbon, on in the vexing ferocity of his concert pieces. But in both of those settings, power and exuberance have played a far greater role than gentility and songfulness.
Admirers of Sharp's amplified din might wonder, upon hearing The Velocity of Hue, if the guitarist forgot to pay his Con Ed bill. Velocity's short, soft improvisations for solo acoustic guitar draw equally upon Blind Willie Johnson, John Fahey, and string-playing traditions from Korea, Africa and India. Sharp employs a gorgeous, warm-toned instrument modified with a dobro bridge, which affords him still more string to bend.
Even stripped down, his music is anything but simple. On tracks such as "The Face of Another" and "Nebel," he combines fingerpicking and delicate rubbing with slide and e-bow; deep, resonant sustained notes sing out elegantly over tactile chirps and pings. "Euwrecka" spins like an incandescent pinwheel, sending tiny harmonic sparks flying into the ether.
While it may seem like a radical departure at first, Velocity ultimately remains true to Sharp's careerlong investigation into the science of sound. If much of his previous work has found beauty in extremes of intensity, he reverses course here, creating a cumulative intensity out of extremes of beauty.—Steve Smith
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2020 postscript: The Velocity of Hue remains available on CD direct from Emanem, here. The album can also be purchased in MP3 format on CD Baby, here, and is available for authorized streaming on YouTube, Spotify, and so on.
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