Anthony Wilson is an accomplished guitarist with such a depth of knowledge and nuance that I’ve long felt there’s no material he couldn’t master and even thrive within, no matter how complex or novel it might be. His newest album Collodion (August 11, 2023, Colorfield Records) has that sophistication of his original music that’s commonplace on his projects, but the novel part goes a lot further.
Colorfield label founder Pete Min invited Wilson to make a record for his imprint but upped the ante by setting up a unique method by which the record would be made. He and Wilson decided that the process of composing, improvisation, arranging and engineering would happen all at once. In the studio, Min left an array of instruments at Wilson’s disposal, the artist could not even use his own. Wilson had to meet the challenge of starting the day with nothing and ending the day with the basic tracking of a new, fully realized composition.
Thus, Wilson doesn’t limit himself to his primary instrument for this endeavor, also handling keyboards, bass guitar, drums, kalimba, gamelan strips, autoharp and assorted other instruments.
In just sixty-three seconds, the soft glow of “Star Maiden” announces that this is going to be a different sort of record. Showcasing not so much melody not technique but feel, tonality and mood. Appropriately, the song cycle ends with the similarly brief “Muse of Joy,” which is essentially the same song.
You might recognize Wilson’s tasteful guitar on “Planetary Glide” but little else. Electronica sounds roil all around that guitar along with danceable percussion, with occasional sharp edits to jolt you out of your comfort zone and another left turn in the form of a brief turn on a rubber bridge guitar.
Wilson did not confine himself to coming up with songs on guitar, at least it doesn’t seem so. “Keeping” is heavy on acoustic piano, accompanied lightly by Morfbeat Gamelan Strips, and even though he doesn’t consider himself a keyboardist, he demonstrates here he can sure as hell come up with a poignant strain with one. “Collodion,” the song, also rests on piano, accompanied by strings conducted by Rob Moose. The way the string section complements Wilson’s plainly chords is the entire attractiveness of this track and, that’s enough.
More thoughtful guitar licks amid synth constructions are found on “Arrival at Kanazawa,” until those electronics are suddenly pulled out and replaced with a majestic three-horn section.
Already disinclined to strictly confine himself by stylistic guardrails, Wilson is even more unencumbered by the clean slate approach and feels free to make music that sounds right and leave it to others to decide what genres they fall into. “Far Growing Nearer” has echoes of Japanese folk music, but I doubt that Wilson intently set out to make such a song; it just came out that way. Regardless, it does sound ‘right.’
Other musicians selectively accentuate Wilson’s basic tracks throughout, but Anna Butterss (acoustic bass) and Daniel Rotem (tenor saxophone) make a really large impact on “Dream Oracle,” inserting the “acoustic” element into the electro-acoustic track with superb sensitivity.
The pleasing ambient textures of “Heart Whispering” are the perfect canvas over which Wilson plays arid, penetrating single note guitar lines. Contrast this to the lonesome urgency he plays with for “The Daughters of Night” (which is another occasion where Butterss is impactful from her perfect note placement alone).
Oftentimes, recordings made outside of one’s comfort zone results in uncomfortable music, even when it’s successful. But Anthony Wilson managed to turn what would be a stressful situation for lesser musicians into a listening experience that’s easy to cozy up to, in spite of it being anything but familiar. Chalk up Collodion as another major accomplishment for this brilliant, under-heralded artist.
Pre-order/Order Collodion from Bandcamp.
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