Conrad / Rolin by Taylor K Conrad / Matthew J Rolin Duo

I met both Matthew J Rolin and Taylor K Conrad after swinging thru Columbus OH last October (holy shit, has it been a year?!) on a trek thru the midwest with Dan Friel, playing at what might be the single greatest venue of all time, Dirty Dungarees - the combination Laundromat/Bar/Venue you never knew you needed in your life.

Was super stoked when Matthew reached out some time after with this master representing the first time the two had played together and the full output of this sesh - an unbelievable souvenir of not only their first takes, but the entirety of the four takes captured during this singular collision.

Matthew and Taylor stir a cauldron of guitar wizardry here, where Matthew’s 12-String acoustic finger work punctuates Taylor’s reverbed out electric beds and then effortlessly flips the script as the dense finger-styles begin to fold into textures over which the electric fretwork begins to float atop. The interplay between the two is mind-boggling, and the seamless hand-off of tones and coloration is so surefooted and nonchalant, unforced yet powerfully graceful, that it’s nothing short of dazzling. Even moreso given its off-the-cuff nature.

Be sure to check out Rolin’s solo LP and incredible duo LP with Jen Powers on hammered-dulcimer (both on Feeding Tube Records) as well as Conrad’s epic Primitive series along with his recent stash of covid-era titles on his bandcamp. Something truly wonderful going on in Columbus.

https://taylorkconrad1.bandcamp.com/
https://matthewjrolin.bandcamp.com/
https://feedingtuberecords.bandcamp.com/music

Handrolled magnetic ventures into the unknown.

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