JEF MERTENS “No Amp” (291)

No amp? No problem! Jef Mertens just plays his 12-string Danelectro into the void and hopes to heck somebody picks up the sound. Well, that’s not entirely true – he recorded this “prepared guitar tape” at a place called Hum Palace, so the recording equipment all but guaranteed that somebody was going to hear it. But still, it’s certainly not going to be heard very loudly – not with No Amp.

The pieces are all quite meditative, and you can sit listening to them quietly on headphones (my recommendation). You’ll be able to discern each pick hit and string crack, and sometimes the guitar oscillates or sounds effected – which means you’d need an amp for that, right? Wait a second …

Everything is an expansive landscape. FFO processed friggin’ guitar, man! What else do you want?


--Ryan