1867 by dave stafford

SSDL1719 1867

release date: 19970217 label: pureambient

dave's only 1997 release, featuring a unique blend of crafty acoustic guitar and looping.

here is a reproduction of the original CD liner notes:

"a celebration of the acoustic guitar and the joy of looping"

this recording documents the use of a standard ovation model 1867 acoustic guitar, a custom-designed long delay / loop system, and the commitment to rediscover the joy of looping in an acoustic format. recorded entirely in the new standard tuning for guitar, and using the long delay / loop system to instigate harmony and counterpoint, this approach provided opportunities to create sonic vistas far beyond those normally associated with "acoustic guitar". many of these pieces are live, music appearing spontaneously (and occasionally miraculously). others are at most duets,with looped and live guitars intermingled.

the initial piece was rehearsed and "learned" for six weeks, and then the entire album was recorded over a period of another six weeks at the beginning of 1997. once the looping process was learned for the acoustic format, the rest of the pieces arrived quickly.

"the timid globe" and "the unborn globe" represent the world's first "solo" circulations, pieces normally played by large groups of guitarists. in these "solo" circulations, the individual notes of the scale are first played with large spaces between each, looped, and then additional notes are "added" as the loop progresses. "xifeng" and "night feast" came unrehearsed, from the ether and the tape happened to be rolling. "the wrong door" is a construct piece, allowing that dissonance can also be humorous.

preparation for the CD release revealed several other excellent variations which presented themselves as material suitable for the additional bonus tracks contained on this disc. one of these pieces, "the nature of hindsight", should never have been omitted from the original recording.

the phonographic copyright in these performances / compositions is operated by studio seventeen productions / pureambient on behalf of the artist, with whom it resides. studio seventeen productions / pureambient accepts no reason for artists to give away such copyright interests in their work by virtue of a "common practice" which is out of tune with the times, was always questionable and is now indefensible.

copyright 1997 (the world) david w. stafford

Tracklist

1.	the nature of light	3:20

2.	transparent bell	1:41

3.	entmoot	1:16

4.	your timorous courage	2:41

5.	raven	3:22

6.	convex emerald hall	9:17

7.	the timid globe	3:07

8.	bearer of glad tidings	1:44

9.	concave emerald hall	3:14

10.	the wrong door	1:01

11.	between the poles	3:22

12.	xifeng	9:35

13.	night feast	13:11

14.	the nature of life	2:01

15.	inverse emerald hall	1:29

16.	the unborn globe	3:36

17.	empty emerald hall	1:27

18.	the nature of hindsight	3:15

Credits

released February 17, 1997

dave stafford: ovation 1867 acoustic guitar, custom long delay / looping system.

additional instrumentation: looped electric energy bow guitar on track 14, "the nature of life" and track 18, "the nature of hindsight".

all tracks composed, performed, recorded, produced, engineered and mixed by dave stafford for pureambient records.

all instruments and sounds by dave stafford.

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