Mike Cooper & Chris Abrahams - Trace (2014)

Lap steel guitarist Mike Cooper meets The Necks' pianist, Chris Abrahams on record for the 2nd time. 'Trace' was recorded in 2009, not long after the duo had released their 'Oceanic Feeling-Like' (2008) album collaboration on Room40. Again, it documents the two maverick improvisers doing what they do best, creating characteristically subtly-evolving soundscapes where Cooper's distinctive lap steel flits over Abrahams' warm, levitating beds of synth and organ drone. The session breaks down to three 20 minute parts, the first establishing a breezy tone with something "other" lurking in the background, whilst the 2nd features more percussive, angular guitar and keys from the duo, and a 3rd section resolves in more echoic space with a chiming midnight jazz ambience.