David Dvorin: With(In)Communicado

Along with folks such as Ernesto Diaz-Infante and a few others, guitarist/composer/educator David Dvorin is among the recent wave of Northern California-based – new music – artisans who often mold contemporary classical elements with folksy themes, free improvisation and digital electronics. And in his own words, Dvorin’s With(in)Communicado is inspired by notions that...”deals with the breaking down of transmission systems and social communication in an era of proliferating hi-tech communication devices”.

Here, Dvorin’s topical and relevant musings are partially conveyed via some of his recorded answering machine messages and while the telephone shtick does not represent anything totally novel, the artist electronically manipulates many of the messages that serve as conceptual launching pads for these compositions. Dvorin renders ethereal soundscapes performed on acoustic and electric guitar along with loops, EFX and keyboards as he frequently generates jagged musical statements often utilized for altering or subsidizing the grand scheme of things. Additionally, Dvorin explores ambient and at times, mood enhancing motifs amid spacious guitar lines, subtle treatments and strong doses of imagery, which is most prominent on his composition titled “Rain”, where he hammers his guitar strings to mimic the implied sounds of rain drops touching the earth. Yet on “Calendar”, Dvorin indulges in some Derek Bailey-style guitar picking. Overall, With(In)Communicado is a curiously interesting and rather ambitious project. A recording, that is noticeably adorned by the contemporary subject matter.

* * * ½ (out of * * * * *)

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