Brady Cohan - Studies, Vol. 2 (2021)

LA film composer and guitarist Brady Cohan offers the second edition of his fascinating, ongoing series for solo guitar and electronics with the dark sparsity of Studies, Vol. 2.

Brady describes Studies, Vol. 2 as “a study in gestures”. Thematically, it acts as a continuation of the same musical landscapes ventured by December 2020’s first Studies volume - the same skilled, agile handling of guitar and electronics; the same radical chill of downtown LA’s vital jazz scene; the same distillation of musical mastery honed by years of composing filmscore. However, this new edition minimises the lush, slow-mo Malibu balm of the previous iteration in favour of a rarefied and subtle intensity. Where guest musician Sam Wilkes’ bassline in Volume 1 quietly grooves, Sam Gendel’s treated saxophone in Volume 2’s “Begin Again” smears and smudges an already-blurred canvas.

“This record was an act of self-preservation,” Brady tells us. “A way for me to channel the negativity into something positive.”

As suggested by the title, Studies, Vol. 2 is part of a larger series of solo works, due for release on Phantom Limb over the coming months.