Monday 6 August 2018, 7.30pm
“His technical proficiency on the 12-string—astonishing as it is—recedes in importance behind the sheer joy and manic propulsion he brings to the music. Though his work is largely free of Fahey’s blues thrust, Noyes weaves a rich stylistic fabric from diverse sources, whether he’s reflecting Basho’s hammering mastery of the 12-string or revealing a more meditative side of his personality that suggests the influence of British heavies such as John Renbourn or Michael Chapman.” – Chicago Reader on Rob Noyes
"Rob Noyes has been on the Eastern Massachusetts scene for a while, but what we've heard him play is music from within the context of electric bands, most of whom are loud as hell and exist somewhere along the rim of the post-core continuum. More recently, Rob has taken to displaying his solo acoustic guitar chops and they are massive. The Feudal Spirit is the first vinyl evidence of their 'shoulders.' Like Western Mass's Tony Pasquarosa, who mines the same widely-variant style-pits, Rob's approach to acoustic playing resembles his electric work only through shared-belief-in-a-strong-downstroke. On the way to developing his own compositional/performance approach, Noyes sometimes seems to have absorbed an almost infinite reservoir of influences. Apart from some superb Basho-like 12-string tunneling, most momentary fragments tend to recall legendary Limeys like John Renbourn (and through him, Davey Graham), because Rob's overt melodic structures tend towards the non-bluesoid. But then you'll maybe hear a note-sequence spiced like something dropped from the hot strings of Michael Chapman or even a powerful throng that makes you think of Wizz Jones. When that happens, you realize there's more of a blues base to some of the songs than you'd been able to untangle. Mr. Noyes hits a vast array of sub-genres on this album, and he hits them all pretty damn hard. Rob's playing carries the weight of many possibly-imaginary forebears, but the way he smears them all together shows a holistic mastery of touch and imagination that defies a lot of today's players, who tend to shine in short bursts, then allow their dreams to outrun their technique. Rob Noyes has no such apparent limitations. Like Raymond Pettibon, whose artwork graces The Feudal Spirit's cover, Rob's able to create a true form-gobble, making some real beautiful noise in the process. Around the world, licensed Hodologists whisper, 'Make mine Noyes.' Why don't you join them?" --Byron Coley, October 23rd, 2016, South Deerfield, MA.
Jon Collin makes music, sound and art using stringed instruments, long tones, found objects, field recordings, anxiety and friction. His recorded practice is based around interactions with the world through recordings made in non-studio locations. He has released records on e.g. Discreet Music (Sweden), Feeding Tube Records (USA) and DDS (UK). His collaborative work includes three LPs with Demdike Stare, releases of live collaborations with Bill Nace and Sarah Hughes, and an upcoming trio record with Troth on A Colourful Storm (Australia). He runs the record label Early Music and ran the tape label project Winebox Press.
