"Witch's Ladder" is the fourth full length album from UK guitarist Dean McPhee, whose last LP "Four Stones" (2018) introduced a kick drum pulse, hypnotic loops and synth-like Ebow lines to his sparsely meditative, echo-laden solo guitar music.
On this new album he uses his Telecaster, valve amp and effects to weave an even deeper spell, as fingerpicked melodies soar over hypnotic riffs, looped basslines and cosmic reverb trails. Recorded live with no overdubs and inspired by folklore, mysticism and the landscapes of the North of England, "Witch's Ladder" represents a significant evolution in his sound, while also retaining the unique sense of depth and space that has drawn comparison with the likes of Loren Connors, Dylan Carlson and Popul Vuh. The cover art to "Witch's Ladder" features the stunning 1933 painting "The Primal Wing" by Agnes Pelton, a visionary symbolist who was not widely known during her lifetime but is now being recognised as a pioneer of spiritual abstract art alongside the likes of Hilma Af Klimt and Wassily Kandinsky. "Witch's Ladder" is to be announced on the 8th January, 2021, which will coincide with the release of a video for the opening track "The Alchemist". Directed and filmed by Harry Wheeler (Architects of Harmonic Rooms and Records), the video features breathtaking footage of Dean performing on a misty hillside at Bolton Woods quarry near his home in Bradford, West Yorkshire. (click the image below to view an unlisted link which will be made public on 08/01/21). This album is the twelfth release on the Hood Faire label, a venture overseen by Sam McLoughlin (Samandtheplants/Tongues of Light), David Chatton Barker (Folklore Tapes) and Dean McPhee.
The 180g vinyl version of the album (ltd 500 copies) was pressed by Vinyl Factory in the UK and mastered by Denis Blackham at Skye Mastering. “Over the course of the last decade, Dean McPhee has quietly and unhurriedly established himself as one of most compelling and unique solo guitar artists around, weaving gorgeously meditative reveries with a masterful use of ghostly delay effects” (Brainwashed)
On this new album he uses his Telecaster, valve amp and effects to weave an even deeper spell, as fingerpicked melodies soar over hypnotic riffs, looped basslines and cosmic reverb trails. Recorded live with no overdubs and inspired by folklore, mysticism and the landscapes of the North of England, "Witch's Ladder" represents a significant evolution in his sound, while also retaining the unique sense of depth and space that has drawn comparison with the likes of Loren Connors, Dylan Carlson and Popul Vuh. The cover art to "Witch's Ladder" features the stunning 1933 painting "The Primal Wing" by Agnes Pelton, a visionary symbolist who was not widely known during her lifetime but is now being recognised as a pioneer of spiritual abstract art alongside the likes of Hilma Af Klimt and Wassily Kandinsky. "Witch's Ladder" is to be announced on the 8th January, 2021, which will coincide with the release of a video for the opening track "The Alchemist". Directed and filmed by Harry Wheeler (Architects of Harmonic Rooms and Records), the video features breathtaking footage of Dean performing on a misty hillside at Bolton Woods quarry near his home in Bradford, West Yorkshire. (click the image below to view an unlisted link which will be made public on 08/01/21). This album is the twelfth release on the Hood Faire label, a venture overseen by Sam McLoughlin (Samandtheplants/Tongues of Light), David Chatton Barker (Folklore Tapes) and Dean McPhee.
The 180g vinyl version of the album (ltd 500 copies) was pressed by Vinyl Factory in the UK and mastered by Denis Blackham at Skye Mastering. “Over the course of the last decade, Dean McPhee has quietly and unhurriedly established himself as one of most compelling and unique solo guitar artists around, weaving gorgeously meditative reveries with a masterful use of ghostly delay effects” (Brainwashed)
TRACK LISTING
1.The Alchemist
2.The Alder Tree
3.Red Lebanese
4.Eskdale Path
5.Witch’s Ladder