Greetings all - welcome to, or back to, the mighty Gauntlet of Balthazar.
I have to admit right upfront that I've been finding that no matter how much I promise myself, it just seems harder and harder to find the time to post pretty much anything here since 2021. Frankly speaking this is probably because I've made a concerted effort to intentionally pull away from social media - which in my opinion is a fairly toxic influence on culture in general, and personally, I also find it a wonderful time-thief that just takes away from my various artistic endeavors.
Anyway, the writing aside from here is going well, art is being made, and music is being worked on - which is fulfilling in various respects. I know that I've mentioned here before that I would be putting more attention to evolving Stubborn God Productions presence on Youtube, and as a result I have indeed placed a number of new official music videos to that channel.
However, I thought I'd take the time today to mention the newest video featured on that channel, which is a piece of live modal guitar music called "Terrible Beauty 01". While most of the other videos thus far have been industrial-electronic, soundtrack, or acoustic guitar-driven singer-songwriter folk-rock tunes, this track stands out as something different.
I mean, I'm no guitar mad aficionado who can't get enough of some dude churning out break-neck wanky chops littered with "hammer ons", whammy bar, and that same old sound that everyone else imitates. I am also not a music theory purist, nor a gear head addict. I'm just an artist who happens to play a number of instruments, largely intuitively, and thus, I kind of know what I'm doing most of the time, even if have to think about it to define it.
Regardless, this track is what I think is a fairly catchy modal solo with some interesting turns and surprises played on my classic Fender American Heritage Stratocaster through a Roland Guitar Synth and Peavey Amp, with a capo and wooden pick. My style itself is a weird combination of slides, bends, plucks and once and a while some motivic development or sudden modulation. I perceive this piece as Prog Rock meets World Music meets Metal, but if you feel otherwise, let me know.
Ironically, though I was more involved in the Punk and Industrial Music scenes, I've always held a place in my heart for classic Progressive Rock guitarists such as Robert Fripp, Phil Manzanera, and Dave Gilmour, and who knows, maybe this is a bit of a tribute to that side of my musical influences.
So, enjoy, and if you'd like - subscribe to the Stubborn God Productions YouTube Channel and like, comment, and share. Because that would be nice!
Till next time
