ANTON TOORELL - SOLOS
RELEASES FEB 11

Solos is the solo debut album by Swedish guitarist, composer and producer Anton Toorell. The seven tracks on Solos have been carefully selected from the vast amount of recordings that Toorell has made between 2019-2021 as part of his ongoing investigations of what is possible as a solo guitarist. 

Although recorded over an extended time-span, and at various locations, the album is far from fragmented: rather it invites the listener to join Toorell on his focused search for new sounds, new techniques and — unselfconsciously — a unique musical voice. The recordings included on Solos are highlights from this archive, collected sonic traces from an open-ended process, that together form a strong and coherent whole. 

Toorell initially approached the acoustic and electric guitar with the music of Jimi Hendrix, bob hund, Robert Johnson and Neil Young streaming in his heart and mind, ears and fingers. He subsequently studied jazz for several years before directing most of his musical focus to various bands and projects including the techno-tuba duo Invader Ace (with Peder Simonsen), quasi-math-experimental-rock duo Dammit I'm Mad (with Christian Augustin) and the Joe Williamson-led, post-Beefheart free-grooving trio Receptacles. He's currently studying for a master’s degree in electro-acoustic composition at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. 

Listening to Solos you might come to think of the guitar streams of James Blackshaw, Japanese koto music, Olivier Messiaen's tonal structures, the almost-repetition of late Morton Feldman or the semi-circular rhythmic language of fellow Swedish guitarist David Stackenäs. Yet, the music on this album sounds as fresh and original as the techniques that Toorell has invented to realize it. 

Toorells main setup for Solos involves two acoustic guitars: one or both positioned horizontally. By means of eloquent hammer-on/pull-off techniques, a cascade of notes emerges, rich in metamusical phenomena. Never static, it is always carried forward by subtle shifts and nuances in accent, pitch and rhythm. The music requires speed and a prodigious virtuosity, but at the same time, it moves forward slowly and gently and Toorell performs with such a modesty that it makes it all sound effortless. 

The guitar sound is certainly in the focus throughout, but on several tracks, other instruments and sounds enter into a dialogue with the acoustic guitar. For example, on Snares, one of the guitars is doubled with live triggered samples of a snare drum and on Chords, the acoustic guitar is performed in combination with guitar samples aligned to the harmonic series. These additional non-acoustic sound are not simple adornment but are tightly integrated within Toorells’s instrumental setup, tuning choices, and recording methods. 

The seven pieces on Solos are like distinct planets circling the same galaxy. Closely related and informing each other, here they are condensed in duration, but still give the listener an impression of infinite musical vibration extending endlessly beyond the recording at hand. 

Credits
Composed, performed, recorded and mixed by Anton Toorell
Additional mix by Niclas Lindström in Atlantis Metronome
Mastered by Taylor Deupree
Cover Art by Johan Toorell
Made with support from Swedish Arts Council
Cat nr: [ACE005]

Live
February 24 - Frim at Fylkingen, Stockholm
April 28 - Folkteatern, Göteborg