Tim Brady Invites You to "Imagine Many Guitars"

Tim Brady's Imagine Many Guitars opens with "This one is broken in pieces: Symphony #11," 25-minutes of multi-tracked electric guitars, eight in total, and overdubbed soprano voices (whose words are sourced from the late Montreal-based writer and performer Ian Ferrier's 2015 poetry collection Coming And Going). Brady's use of effects pedals will sound familiar to listeners of ambient and shoegaze music while compositionally, he is firmly in the contemporary classical camp.

"Slow, Simple," first performed at Chile's Festival Internacional de la Guitarra Eléctrica Contemporanea in 2022, is a piece for 20 electric guitars and demonstrates Brady's mastery of large-scale guitar orchestration.

The album's latter half features more concise works. "Five Times: four guitars" showcases Brady's ability to interweave various guitar techniques, from jazz-influenced leads to kaleidoscopic accompaniments. The closing track, "[very] Short Pieces for (jazz) Guitar," revisits Brady's first chamber composition from 1979, offering a glimpse into his roots as a player.

Brady's expert layering and manipulation of guitar sounds create an experience that explicitly lives up to the album's title. Imagine Many Guitars isn't just a collection of multi-tracked guitar pieces; it's an exploration of the instrument's sonic potential.

Tim Brady's prolific career spans nearly four decades, with 28 album releases and numerous commissions from orchestras and ensembles worldwide. His work has been recognized with awards and nominations, including a JUNO nomination for his album Atacama: Symphony #3. Brady continues to push the boundaries of guitar music, with upcoming projects including the immersive "La Grande Accélération: Symphony #12," featuring 100 guitarists, six percussionists, and two symphony orchestras.

Imagine Many Guitars is out now.