The Cloud of Unknowing, by James Blackshaw (CD on Tompkins Square)

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Format:	CD
Label:	Tompkins Square
Price:	£10.99
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What we say

Rating: ecstatic This record left our Phil feeling ecstatic.

Well it's about cocking time eh? A brand new James Blackshaw album lands on my lap and I'm so excited I can barely contain myself. It doesn't take me much to get excited! The minute this came on Maggie and me immediately felt an air of calm fall upon the office. Ant and Mingus had left to do more important things and we just totally fell for the young whippersnappers 12 string pluckery. The title track of the album (The Cloud Of Unknowing) is absolute killer Blackshaw. I try not to use the word 'killer' in reviews cos it's a little over used these days.... maybe I'll use slayer. Yes the first track is absolute slayer.... there's a completely unexpected chord change which just knocks your socks off. The whole album follows suit and is complete slayer from start to end. This is classic Blackshaw and those who are into the acoustic guitar pluckery of fellow travellers Fahey and Steffen Basho Junghans will be mortally excited by this complete beast of a record. Be still thine heart it is time to be tamed by thee lord of Blackshaw..... (that's a bit of a poncey way to end this but you get the gist that I like it, OK?)

What the label says:

Performing and recording since 2003, his name is frequently mentioned as one of the foremost modern solo acoustic guitarists. Now at the age of 25, Blackshaw, an untrained musician born and still residing in the suburban environs of Greater London, draws as much inspiration from early religious music, South-Asian folk music and composers such as Arvo Part, Simeon Ten Holt, Steve Reich and Charlemagne Palestine as he does from John Fahey, Robbie Basho and the early Takoma Records roster, constantly breaking boundaries in what could be conceived as a somewhat limited medium. In his part improvised and part written songs, Blackshaw makes expert use of Eastern and Western scales, chord changes reminiscent of European classical music and incredibly intricate fingerpicking patterns to make a sound that is both challengingly minimalist, yet warm and approachable to anybody who might hear it, with a rare sensitivity that conveys immense beauty, hope and sadness. Blackshaw has been featured in a range of magazines across the world including The Seattle Weekly, The Washington Post, Italy's Blow Up magazine and most recently in a full - page article in the October 2006 issue of The Wire.