U.K. acoustic guitarist Andy Cartwright has honed his solo skills under the name of Seabuckthorn across half a dozen albums, released in almost as many years. He forges minimally layered six and twelve string soundscapes, painted with rich, brooding inferences to drone-folk, modern classical, and haunting Americana with the articulation of a grand master. Fortuitously, as Cartwright pushes toward his highest artistic heights, he has hooked up with Lost Tribe Sound to help launch the label’s new Dead West limited edition tape series with a captivating six-track EP entitled I Could See the Smoke. Before the EP hits public tape decks on October 21, you are invited to witness the contemplative beauty of “Overgrown Courtyard.”
The song has a rambling, reminiscing, shamanic quality, somewhere between Western Bell-era Kelly Joe Phelps and the apocalyptic jamming heard when Batman, Special Agent Cooper, Johnny Drama, and that guy who said “what” again did peyote in the desert for that Oliver Stone movie about that whiskey band most people don’t seem to like these days. Word on the street is, if you close your eyes, you’ll see the seven-mile serpent appear, his ten by five head with red and green eyes, and the whole of history on his scales, but even those less experienced will channel profound visions care of its fluid, raga-esque ambiance.
Whatever your trip is, buy the ticket, and take the ride below.