GuitarFest to feature innovative material
THE Isle of Man GuitarFest, organised by Island-based JonnoPromotions, returns for a third year in 2010.
Some of the artists on the bill tell What Where When what fans can expect from them at the Villa Marina from August 27-29.
Newcomer Dan Arborise said he mixed traditional acoustic guitar playing with modern sound effects to create his brand of ambient folk music.
Roland Chadwick, of the Modern Guitar Trio, revealed that their set would be built around several movements of his new work Rococo Cafe, which the band can find challenging to play.
Arborise has been playing music all his life, starting with the piano and moving on to the electric guitar as a teenager. He became interested in acoustic guitar while studying at Edinburgh University.
The 31-year-old, from Totnes in Devon, has released two albums, Around In Cirlces in 2006 and Of Tide And Trail in 2009.
Although he went down the folk guitar route, he was heavily influenced by late Scottish guitar legend John Martyn's use of sustain. His career highlight so far was playing with Martyn in Glasgow in 2007.
He said: 'My style is steeped in the British folk tradition, with acoustic guitar and finger-picking, but I also use modern devices such as live looping.
'I'm trying to fuse two disparate elements together, building on what Martyn did in the 70s, and it seems to work. It's chilled-out ambient folk with a trancy sound.'
During a tour of Scotland last year, Arborise played in a variety of venues ranging from a grand theatre in Inverness to Dunnet Head Lighthouse, on the northernmost tip of the British mainland.
He said: 'I'm quite interested in travelling to places that are off the beaten track, so I'm really looking forward to playing in the Isle of Man for the first time.
'Most people probably won't have heard of me, but that makes it a good opportunity to make new fans. Smaller crowds are often the most respectful and receptive – in bigger places they get more blase about music.'
The Modern Guitar Trio play all their own material, with each member – Chadwick, Vincent Lindsey-Clark and Roland Gallery – contributing compositions.
Chadwick, from Farnham in Surrey, explained that their work was very intricate because they wrote the music before they even picked up an instrument to play it.
The guitar teacher said: 'When you write straight on to paper, it expands enormously the possibilities and you can really explore.
There's a big difference between guitar music and music written for the guitar.
'Sometimes I look at my work and I think, "Why did I write that? It's really difficult".'
The 53-year-old, who celebrates 40 years of playing guitar this year, will make his fourth trip to the Isle of Man for this year's festival and plans to stay for a holiday.
He said: 'Every time I'm there I'm amazed at the standard of guitar players and the extraordinary level of activity.
'We will be locked in my house for three days of rehearsals before the festival so it's really happening when we get on stage.'
He added: 'I'm proud of what I've done, lots of it still sounds great today. But I'm also playing with young guys who are doing some things I've never heard before.'
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Weather for Isle of Man
Tuesday 07 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 1 C to 7 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
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Temperature: 3 C to 4 C
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