Record Reviews

STEPHAN THELEN ~ FRACTAL GUITAR 4 MOONJUNE 149 (Barcode: 692287914929) ~ SWITZERLAND ~ Jazz-Ambient Fusion Recorded: 2025 Released: 2026 This is the 4th album in the “Fractal Guitar” series by Swiss guitarist / composer Stephan ThelenFind albums by this artist, recorded with a large group of musicians, including fellow guitarists Norwegian Eivind AarsetFind albums by this artist, American Jon DurantFind albums by this artist, German Markus ReuterFind albums by this artist and Stefan HuthFind albums by this artist. Italian pianist Fabio AnileFind albums by this artist, Israeli drummer Yogev GabayFind albums by this artist, Swiss percussionist Andi PupatoFind albums by this artist and Indian percussionist Giri SubramaniamFind albums by this artist are the non-guitarist participants. The album presents eight tracks, six of which are original compositions by Thelen and two are co-composed with others The music is all highly Ambient oriented, with long and slowly developing melodic themes, with extensive improvisations by the guitarists, with a superb rhythmic support by Gabay and the percussionists. This music demands a lot of patience and open-minded musical approach, as it is multi-layered and often extremely unhurried, with seemingly limited emotional development, but in fact quite a lot is happening underneath the exterior, which the patient listeners should be delighted to uncover. Overall, this is a highly aesthetic, contemplative Ambient music, spiced with extensive Jazzy improvisation, which has a cinematic atmosphere and a meditative disposition, but for patient and open-minded listeners is definitely a valuable and often fascinating experience. Highly recommended!

Updated: 07/05/2026Posted: 07/05/2026

CD 1 Digisleeve Recommend To A Friend