Kyle Dawkins is a classically trained guitarist/composer who studied at the University of Georgia School of Music and is an original member of the Georgia Guitar Quartet. He plays both guitar and banjo on Conasauga and is joined by fellow Quartet members Brian Smith, Phil Snyder and Jason Solomon.
Conasauga is an homage to the Conasauga River, and more broadly, to nature. The only voices you hear are those of the guitar and the banjo and how they interpret the river and its denizens. Without reading the track titles, it is uncanny how Dawkins' music coaxes images into your mind's eye that coincide with the track titles. "The Crow" is a good example of this.
The bulk of the guitar and banjo is Appalachian in sensibility. There is that sparse, mournful banjo that lends the American Gothic feel to the tracks, but the guitar swirls itself around and over to give it a richness. The folk feel is not the only guitar influence evident. There is also a definite classical Spanish style guitar in the first track and an Eastern European influence towards the end. Not everyone will be keen on an all instrumental CD, but this has seven great tracks and one not so stellar because it has a Sesame Street feel to it, but I think it's easily worth owning. You might not listen to it daily, but in a more contemplative moment, it could change the weather for you.
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