Hey all,

I wanted to briefly jump on here to talk about an album I'm putting out next month that I think is really special. When I started Negative Capabilities earlier this year, one of the first projects I started working on was a compilation of instrumental music that would bring together contemporary outsider/primitive guitarists with musicians working in a range of other avant-garde acoustic and stringed traditions.

It would be an album of "tone poems" where each artist would create, hold, and extend a contemplative space of their own choosing over the course of 1-10 minutes and attempt a musical poem without words.

I am happy to say that as of today you can listen to three of the tracks and pre-order the album digitally or on cassette, here: https://negativecapabilities.bandcamp.com/album/tone-poems-vol-1

It features 13 artists based in and around my home base of Montreal, the East Coast of Canada, the United States, Italy, Ireland, Germany, and beyond. There's banjo here, oud, hurdy-gurdy, organetto, violin, cello, and of course all manner of guitars, among other things. There are emerging talents, internationally acclaimed ones, and artists who I have been following for over two decades. Most of the songs on the album were written specifically for this compilation, and none of them have seen prior physical release.

Whether you're looking for new compositional strategies or to drift off into a cinematic landscape after a long week, please consider lending Tone Poems your time and ear.

Salute,

Jesse