Ashland by Kevin Hufnagel

Kevin Hufnagel is an American musician known for his solo guitar works, for fronting the progressive instrumental rock/metal band Dysrhythmia, and for being a member of Vaura, Sabbath Assembly, Byla, and Gorguts. Originally released digitally in 2013, Ashland becomes available in physical form for the first time ever on March 29, 2018.8.

" Ashland‘s real charm comes mostly from its surprising emotiveness. Hufnagel is a master musician, and even this comparatively bare-bones music has a technical edge — there are complex arpeggios, hammer-ons, and pedal-tone schemas aplenty to marvel at. But they’re only incidental to Ashland‘s sometimes-eerie, sometimes-wistful melodies. We equate intensity with loudness much of the time in the metal world. This album’s spidery intimacy shows that intensity can come with restraint too."

-Invisible Orange

" Kevin Hufnagel is a musician who generally deals in the intense, steely and complex. His work as guitarist for bands such as Gorguts and Dysrthymia has resulted in breathtaking sprints up and down the fretboard, with adamantine riffs and notes tunnelling through labyrinthine songs, leaving fans in awe of his guitar wizardry.

However, on Hufnagel’s new album, Ashland, he steps right off the metal pedal, producing a set of baritone and eight-string ukulele instrumentals. Much like Hufnagel’s metal-oriented work, Ashland contains plenty of nimble-fingered creativity, and the album is flecked with hints of his predilection for the avant-garde. "Ancestral Instinct” and “Perpetual Shadow” bring tumbles of wistful plucks and strums. “Courtyard” and “The Gift” draw diaphanous and romantic pictures with their medieval folk. Meanwhile, “Janda” and “Paths Crossed” drift warmly through the ethereal; all gossamery lilts and delicate picks, adding a touch of the idyllic and haunting. The classical acoustic sounds of Ashland are far removed from Hufnagel’s metal ventures, but he certainly exhibits the same level of virtuosity -- albeit in a gentler frame."

-Pop Matters

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Tracklist

1.	Ancestral Instinct	2:40

2.	Perpetual Shadow	2:36

3.	Figures At Dawn	3:39

4.	The Otherness	2:08

5.	Courtyard	2:11

6.	The Gift	3:04

7.	A Face In Every Window	3:17

8.	Dual Nature	2:25

9.	Janda	2:07

10.	Paths Crossed	2:21

11.	Archway	2:01

12.	The Dust Of Centuries	2:25

13.	Ashland	2:40

Credits

released March 29, 2018

Kevin Hufnagel - baritone ukulele, 8-string ukulele on "The Gift"

Recorded, Mixed and Mastered by Colin Marston at Menegroth: The Thousand Caves
Woodhaven, NY Spring 2013

Front cover image - Kevin Hufnagel
K.H. monogram and insert drawing - Karlynn Holland

Check ou more of Kevin's fantastic releases:
kevinhufnagel.bandcamp.com

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