Wayne Krantz - Music Room 1985 (2021)

Wayne Krantz unearths 'Music Room 1985' - the thrilling lost solo debut from the guitar iconoclast. These previously unheard one-man recordings are to be released for the first time.

Existing in a state of relentless forward motion, Krantz rarely has the time or inclination to look back, which makes the emergence of the newly rediscovered 1985 recordings gathered as 'Music Room 1985' all the more extraordinary. It was laid down by Krantz alone in a Reseda garage studio in the summer of 1985, with Krantz handling all the compositional and instrumental duties himself. Its six tracks predate his first solo album by five years.

As evidence that Krantz's singular talent was already well established even at this early stage, 'Music Room 1985' is entirely convincing. Simply as an album of music long lost to time and now only being heard, it is staggering, offering an entirely unique brand of agile, intelligent instrumental pop before a label like "smooth jazz" was a genre, a radio format, or an artistic punchline. Defined by taught rhythms and insidiously infectious melodies, 'Music Room 1985' largely eschews guitar heroics while still managing to capture the intensity and exhilaration of improvisation. Skeletal drum programming is embroidered by intricately arranged and precisely executed interlocking guitar figures - delivered in a clean, unforgiving tone recorded directly into the mixing board.