Erik Wøllo - Guitar Nova (2000)

An acoustic guitar album of magic and mystery. Flawlessly performed, lyrical melodies are filled with meaning and purpose that delicately balance between lightness and dramatic power. Guitar Nova introduces a refreshing new perspective to this well known instrument imaginative insight into the musical side of the guitar, by Erik Wollo, one of Norway's foremost composers.

For Norwegian musician Erik Wollo, Guitar Nova is a return to his roots. Best known for electronic landscapes on albums such as Solstice and Images of Light, Wollo actually generates most of his music with a guitar synthesizer. For Guitar Nova, however, he returns to pure, mostly acoustic guitar in an intricate, delicately balanced set of compositions. But it's not just another solo guitar album. Wollo multitracks his instruments in elaborate designs that have the same evocative power of his more lushly orchestrated synthesizer works. Wollo's melodies ring with an open-air purity, whether fingerpicking a 6-string, strumming a 12-string, or bringing in a laconic slide as he does on "Rainbows." From the moody undertow of "Source" to the interwoven minimalism of "Hildring," Wollo creates a crystalline country music, like Ry Cooder at the edge of the galaxy. --John Diliberto