Tashi Dorji & John Dieterich Midden

While the hypothetical range of what the listener might expect from a record of free-improvised guitar playing is understandably gigantic, it’s not very often that what is heard so easily navigates across such a vast terrain. In their most often observed environments (Dorji’s relentlessly frequent solo and collaborative releases, Dieterich in the untamable and uniquely enchanting Deerhoof), both artists regularly redefine both themselves and what “guitar” playing may or may not be. Here, there is communication and expression that transcends the notion that two people can simply cross paths and play guitar together. Plenty of people do this, but few intersect so naturally and comfortably in this abstract of a context. While captured in the live setting, it is not the result of weeks of touring, fine tuning ideas and patterns. Instead, the LP is merely a document which archives the final of three chance meetings, in which two people engage in a natural dialog that at times is jagged and jarring while at others is mesmerizing and beautiful. Unpredictable yet completely organic, such a language is a joy to hear.