Christopher Colm Morrin — Sketches 1-17
Sketches 1-17 is a two-disc set bringing together pared-down guitar compositions. The material moves between drifting ambience, slowed-down blues/ jazz motifs, and generally atmospheric/ felt guitar scaping. It’s an album very much to sink into and drift off with.
Christopher Colm Morrin is a Berlin-based artist who creates intimate and lyrical works across various media, including poetry, painting, music composition, photography, and drawing. The seventeen tracks featured here were all recorded over the festive period of 2021, when Christopher was stuck at home alone after an abrupt change in plans, with only his guitar & minimal pedal effects as company/ solace.
The CD packaging nods towards artfully low-fidelity, with its different coloured pencil-drawn numbers cover. And wavering different coloured pencil line blocks. The album appeared towards the end of October 2024. It was released on Stray Signals, with an edition of just 200 copies. To find out more/ buy direct
Each of the seventeen tracks have runtimes between two and eleven minutes, with a good variation in mood/ feel of track, though of course it all has a decidedly skeletal/ slowed/ span-out sound.
On disc one, we move from the reverberation drone glow mmets waveringly blue guitar notation of “Sketches 1”. Onto the slow ‘n’ steady guitar picks and subtle effect pedal haze of “Sketches 3”, which feels like a very mellowed out Neil Young. There’s the sad & forlorn wound down jazz twang ‘n’ waver of “Sketches 7” which rather gave me Vincent Gallo vibes - before later shifting in early Pink Floyd feel with its shimering spaced outness.
On disc two, we go from the set ‘n’ steady strum meets emotional picking stylings of “Sketches 10”. Onto the eerier humming and circling tones of “Sketches 12”. Though to the toll glow meets warming ambient glide of “Sketches 13”.
Sketches 1-17 is a release I’ve found myself returning to again and again- getting myself lost in the steady drifts, strums, and tolls of Mr Morrin's guitar. Simply honest and often emotionally touched instrumental music from the heart & soul.