The work of guitarist Shane Parish is expansive enough to be studied. Yes, there are key themes to his general playing — the intricate rhythmic latticework of Ahleuchatistas, or the tension-building severity of Blind Thorns, for example. Yet, it’s his solo work which helps to develop the “raw materials” that contextualize his many collaborative projects. With his Odei EP, we see the guitarist hard at work in advancing his playing into a zen-like, Cagean interpretation of stormy, introverted vistas. The album abstracts the Basqueian mythical concept of “Odei” (storm cloud) by evoking a sense of wandering though the contrasting compositional roles of hyper-intentionality and elements of chance. As a whole, the EP is a beautiful, solitary narrative — a reflexive exercise in describing the process of solo music-making that’s just as romantic as it is abstract.
EP opener “Barricades” is a brief “cleanser” that introduces the album’s vocabulary; it’s a primarily percussive, atonal track that exhibits a developed sense of polyrhythm and prepared technique. Chicago artist Rae Whitlock provides a visual experience that shows a process of ornamental erasure — an accompanying concept that perfectly represents Parish’s effort to essential-ize his playing and reduce his harsher musical tendencies into something starkly noble.
Watch the mesmerizing video below and snag the cassette from Marmara Records:
• Shane Parish: http://shaneparish.com
• Marmara: https://marmararecords.bandcamp.com/album/odei
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