From the Vault: A Crimson Grail (for 400 Electric Guitars)
Byline: Shimmering. Colossal. Unyielding. Unrecordable?
For: Phillip Jeck, Glenn Branca, Thurston Moore
So, here is the story. In 1992 minimalist composer with huge ideas compiled 400 guitarists to play a 12 hour living, breathing testament to sound by playing on the bascilla of the Sacre-Couer in Paris, France. We have the pleasure of having on record an hour of this beautiful landmark of sound. For how incredible this sounds in headphones it must have been a life changing experience to see and hear it live. As amazing as it is, however, I feel like the recording suffers from the Watchman complex. Something as intense and complex as the Watchmen fails in all of its recreated forms, a.k.a you Zak Snyder. I don't want to say "you weren't there, you don't know", but you know...whatever. What we do have recorded is pure magic, buzzing droning guitars cram sound into every known centimeter of space available in your ears. Like a glacier, the most powerful earth shaking moves come from the most minute movements. Although the sound can be overwhelming the smallest movements of tone come slowly and envelop you in a buzzing avalanche of beauty. I listened to this while walking through a forrest on a hike up Mt. Olympus. A fitting landscape for sure but the most amazing thing was when I took out the headphones, it was silence. Pure silence. Try it sometime.
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