Imagine yourself deep in Sweden’s Tyresta National
Park, surrounded by nothing but nature, no humans, no noise pollution, no
anything except the undisturbed quietude of the Earth in progress. Now imagine
that you’ve hiked out there with nothing but an acoustic guitar and some form
of recording device (let’s say tape player – we’re a cassette tape site after
all) and, after letting the landscape sink in (like really sink in: into your
body, your bones, your blood, your brain), you pull the guitar out of its case
and let your fingers drift up and down the fretboard. The tune resembles the
roaming you’ve already done to get to this point: even, contemplative,
internal. Wandering fingers mimic wandering feet.
You stay within yourself so as not to disturb your
environs.
Did you imagine all that? Good. Because that’s
essentially what Jon Collin did, down to the very last detail, resulting in From a Petrified Forest. He wandered
into Tyresta, got away from it all, and plucked his guitar until the sounds
merged with the wild outdoors, becoming sort of an ambient soundtrack to a
nature documentary. This is all good stuff, as Collin really captures the quiet
majesty and beauty of the landscape. It’s perfect music for getting out of the
rush of life and into the processes of an alfresco unwinding. Sink into it, and
observe.
--Ryan
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