Joseph Allred Fire & Earth

Joseph Allred fits the Guitar Soli realm perfectly, fully embodying the guitar loner typecast—he falls in line with Robbie Basho not only in his 12-string playing that has a leaning towards Eastern musical traditions and droning free form raga, but also in his educational background in philosophy and religious studies. Scissor Tail Editions decided to put out Fire An Earth after hearing only thirty seconds of the track “Leitmotif”—there’s a sincerity in Allred’s music and way of life that has been missing from the modern age for a long time. Allred has been quietly releasing records for years, painstakingly designing and hand-printing most of the packaging, never promoting any of them. He hand-painted the covers for Fire and Earth and letterpressed the back covers of Dylan Golden Aycock’s latest. Now inhabiting land that’s been in his family for two hundred years, he says he’s trying to find a place in the family legacy. In Fire An Earth, there is a searching and spiritual quality to the music, and also integrity.