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Faint at the Loudest Hour
Recorded fall 2006, Released September 2007 VHF Records
“Faint at the Loudest Hour” is the astonishing solo debut by guitarist
Alexander Turnquist, part of a young generation of guitar players who
have taken their incredible virtuosity and turned it into something
actually worth listening to. Like James Blackshaw, Jack Rose, Glenn
Jones, etc, this could roughly be described as “raga” guitar, with its
long, modal compositions and hypnotic overtone play. Unlike most of his
peers, Alex employs a variety of extended techniques ala Hans Reichel,
grappling the strings with both hands and using a variety of approaches
and attacks on both the steel and wood. There’s also a distinct lack of
audible “roots” influence here, with Alex sidestepping the Fahey-isms
that dominate so much current acoustic guitar music. Along with the 6
& 12 string acoustics, Alex makes subtle use of electronic
textures, such as the surprising Fennesz-like dissolve that occurs
midway through “amongst a swarm of hummingbirds.” The CD was recorded
by Scott Solter (Mountain Goats, Liam Singer, many others) with
cinematic depth and detail.
1. amongst a swarm of hummingbirds
2. in the vein of bedlam
3. water spots upon my mind
4. white out
5. mime fight
6. as the sun sets, we think of days to come...
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Apneic
Recorded winter 2006/2007 Released on Kning Disk Spring 2007
"Though it's short at thirty-five minutes, Apneic's contents
are substantial enough that the release never feels too short.
Two pieces frame a central, twenty-three dronescape: “Idle
Nightmare” opens the album with glistening picking and
entrancing cycles while “$130” closes it with tolling
chimes.
In “Electric Lines,” long flowing streams slowly
build in intensity until, at the halfway mark, percussive
pings and tolling chords swell in volume, turning the piece
into an immense, opaque mass of lulling tones and textures.
The piece takes a beautiful left turn with three minutes remaining
when acoustic guitar picking supplants the drone, and then
abruptly changes character a final time when the guitar morphs
into extended vaporous tones" -Ron Schepper for Textura.
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As the Twilight Crane Dreams in Color
Recorded September 2008, Released July 2009 VHF Records
"Second full length from NY based guitarist Turnquist, who defies
expectations with a set of hypnotic epics that owe more to classic
minimalism than current notions of solo guitar. Forgoing most of the
extended techniques of his debut, Turnquist concentrates on laying down
a thick blanket of 12 string that sets up persistent loop-like patterns
in the music. Simple and lovely strings, piano, and percussion
accompaniment provide the melody, carrying most of the movement in the
pieces. The palette of sounds and styles here is used with
extraordinary control and restraint - the orchestrations are as
reductionist as possible, with no cringe-inducing "string drama" or
unnecessary virtuosity. The almost monomaniacal tremolo thrum of the
guitar dominates the album, but there is a lengthy ambient breakdown
that occurs midway through the 18 minute "The REM Cycle - Dream Phase"
that is a thing of elliptical and drifting beauty. "As The Twilight
Crane" is a bold statement even in the context of the frequent
micro-parsing of styles in the sub-underground - there's really not
much else out there like it."
1. The REM Cycle - Dream Phase
2. Statues in the Dark - Shadows Collide
3. Dancing in Borealis - Ribbons of Vivacity
Hallway of Mirrors
Recorded spring of 2010 Released May 2011 VHF Records
Third VHF album from this young New York-based guitarist/composer who
continues to forge his own radical style to create a very resonant and
enveloping acoustic sound, full of beautiful harmonic overtone
interplay, all instruments sustained. Turnquist’s guitar approach revolves
around a prodigious right-hand technique and a minimalist slant on
composition that separates him from the retro-styling endemic to most
current acoustic guitar music. Hallway of Mirrors uses much of the tonal
palate from his previous record (As the Twilight Crane Dreams in Color,
vhf#118) – dense 12-string finger-picking with vibraphone and piano
carrying much of the melody. On Hallway, the pieces are more concise
with the added sweep of Christopher Tignor’s elegant violin punctuating Turnquist’s harmonics-laden forward motion and Matthew O’Koren’s immaculate
vibraphone (played with both mallets and bow). The additional
instrumentation, inspired in part by Steve Reich’s “Music for 18
Musicians,” provides an added focus in the music, signifying each change
in tone and timbre. Recorded on analog tape using traditional automatic
double tracking stereo mix techniques by engineers Henry Hirsch and
Bram Tobey, the sound has an elegant soft focus that highlights Turnquist’s
strong and sharp performance. The centerpiece of the album, the 16
minute “Waiting at the Departure Gate,” makes a sly nod in tribute to
fellow VHF artist Jack Rose, who all too briefly explored similar
techniques on his classic “Black Pearls.” A truly uplifting and
emotional listening experience. CD $10, LP (w/download coupon) $13
1. Running Towards 
2. Hallway of Mirrors
3. Spherical Aberrations
4. Waiting at the Departure Gate
5. Running From
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