Having made a name for himself on the London and Berkshire acoustic circuits with his own showcases and as a regular supporter of open mics, Sond has finally put pluck to plastic with his debut CD 'Circular Motion'.

Amrit Sond is of a rapidly growing breed of instrumental acoustic guitarists who utilise every surface of the guitar to provide an exciting variety of percussion while playing highly complex contrapuntal guitar lines which negate the need for vocals, and seem to explore every nuance the strings have to offer.

On occasion Amrit has appeared alongside the acoustic acrobatics of Eric Roche and Thomas Leeb. And while he shares with them much of his fundamental technique, it's particularly important that he be separated from the growing number of performers who perhaps rely a little too heavily on the visual entertainment element of this style. With Sond, melody is always afforded the opportunity to flourish, as he exercises considerable restraint with his use of percussion and general flailing of arms. Indeed, Amrit's music is altogether much more reflective and personal, ultimately making this release an equally satisfying listening experience as the live show is a watching one.

Straying from conventional song formats to the point where time signatures are often only vaguely discernible, Sond himself probably has more in common with nylon gurus such as Dominic Miller and Dusan Bogdanovic than the aforementioned Leeb & Roche. Rather than using percussive elements to provide an ever-pulsing one-guitar-band, Amrit uses the array of tones available as extra light and shade, as can be heard in 'Spiritual Crisis' which features an astonishing range of dynamics and exudes a foot-tapping energy. At the other end of the spectrum though, there is the tenderness of 'nth Degree', with a sombre e-bow intro, a delicate and sweet fingerpicked section followed by a passionate refrain which sparkles with crystal clear harmonics.

There is a mixture of stylistic and modal influences at work throughout this CD - references to traditional 'classical' guitar work sit happily alongside overtly eastern melodic ideas and flashes of more basic, sweet folk fingerpicking.

The clarity of recording and the depth and richness of the guitar tones make this self-produced disc a refreshing and pleasant listen (with specialist, and no doubt very expensive, microphones loaned courtesy of compadre Mr Roche).

As a whole, there is enough musical interest within 'Circular Motion' to satisfy a pensive, focussed listener on the one hand, while retaining a degree of musical aesthetic that would allow it to function wonderfully as soothing background music on the other.

So, with no more virtues left to extol, this is where I rather redundantly tack on a personal recommendation... If well thought-out, impeccably performed instrumental acoustic music is your thing, then this CD was made for you!

CD can be purchased from www.acousticmusicresource.com
or by e-mail Amrit Sond
Record Lbel Solid Air Records

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Amrit Sond - Circular Motion Review ©2001 Rich Barnard & Virtually Acoustic
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