June 1, 2020: "This Week in Fingerstyle!"

"This Week in Fingerstyle" on Spotify by Daryl Shawn!

June 1, 2020

by Randal L Meek

"www.randalsview.blog" 

Wow, June is here, and Daryl Shawn has come through with a new top ten of the best in fingerstyle guitar! Thanks Daryl for helping to keep us going and entertained during this time and all the rest of the year!  

"The most exciting playlist on Spotify" reloaded again for a great Monday morning! "This Week in Fingerstyle" curated by Daryl Shawn is where you'll find the absolute best that true "Indie" has to offer in the world of fingerstyle! Daryl does all the selecting of the tunes, I just make a few comments. Put your headphones on or AirPods in and disappear into these wonderful sounds as we check out what gems Daryl found for us this week! "This Week" now has over 500 "Followers" enjoying this weekly treat!

First up is "Dawn's Embrace" by Liad Abraham & cellist Roxane Genot! A beautiful, calming piece with a touch of melancholy and the deep emotional pull added by the lush cello sounds of Roxane! Tremendous!

"Colors of the Wind" is what you get when you combine Casper Esmann with Walt Disney! I mean, what could be better? Casper's clear, crisp notes & tone make this beautiful cover virtually dance across the sky in front of you! I always tear up & smile when I listen to Casper just because he is one of the most evocative players on the planet and his music truly moves me to my core! I have not heard a better version of this scintillating piece! 

"Sage" by Ulli Boegershausen puts you right in the American southwest with that unmistakable southwestern sound inspired by Spanish influences combined with new world. And what beautiful solo runs! Wonderful!!!

Wow! Luca Stricagnoli pulls off Ennio Morricone's "For a Few Dollars More" and lets me realize a childhood dream! I have wanted to see someone do this for over 50 years! You nailed it Luca & I am a fan for life!

There is probably not a person on the planet who has heard of both Spotify & "fingerstyle guitar" who does not know the name of Lance Allen! A master guitarist and visionary who inspired all of us, successfully navigated the world of streaming revenue, and encouraged the rest of us to "go for it!" Lance's newest "My Rose" is beautiful, carefully crafted and exquisite! Flowing with deep emotion, a reflection of good times and the knowing acceptance of the inevitable fading of one stage of life on to another. You tapped into pure creativity, emotion and love in this one Lance. I salute you on so many levels. Thanks for another beautiful song!

Want to spend 6 minutes inside the consciousness of a true musical "Lone Wolf"? The creative talent of Jürg Kindle allows you that opportunity with his newest piece: "Lone Wolf"! There is no way to box Jürg into any particular genre or musical limitation and this newest piece is like a string of exclamation marks after that realization. Meandering, exquisite, explorative and delightful, this piece allows Jürg to just put it all out there and let us know that he won't be contained! What a prelude to whatever is to come from his creativity and talented fingers in the coming years! Tremendous work Jürg Kindle!

"Enduring Hope" by Ken Verheecke is another in the long line of deep emotional pieces that Ken crafts and drops like beautiful, soft, falling petals! Always feel like I'm floating and resting on big puffy white clouds of sound when I'm listening to Ken! Another beautiful work!

"Swinging Bridge" by Lance Takamiya is a laid-back slack key piece that musically portrays the Kapaia Swinging Bridge on Kauai used in times past by the cane workers to get to work. Now just a reminder of days gone by, just sit back and let this piece engulf you in history, place and the sounds of a unique culture and piece of history told by a modern day master of Hawaiian music!

"Day 2 - Houstrup" by Jürgen Saalman is port of a musical documentary of a trip by this master musician through Denmark and Norway. An unmistakable sense of adventure and exploration as one leaves home in search of something new and satisfying in a way that only travel can inspire. Just a touch of haunting emotions that beautifully expresses the feeling that travel is wonderful, perhaps essential, but in the end there is no place like home! Beautiful Jürgen!

Latvian sensation Vadim Kobal is really on a roll, and this beautiful cover of "If the World Was Ending" is perhaps his greatest work to date. Confident, poised and allowing the music to flow through his fingers. The finesse and brilliance remind me of another of my all-time favorite guitarists and reveal a young artist who is truly finding his own path and feeling that sense of mastery that only comes with "oh so much work!" Well done Vadim!!

And don't stop there! Remember that all the past selections follow the new top ten starting with Basil Wahn's "Speicher 10"!

Daryl Shawn, thank you again for making my Monday mornings a very special and exciting part of every week!

And that's it for another "This Week in Fingerstyle" by Daryl Shawn who every week puts together "the most exciting playlist on Spotify"!

Remember to "Follow/Heart/Like" the playlist that Daryl Shawn so painstakingly creates every week!

Join us every week for "This Week in Fingerstyle" on Spotify!