Music for One is the project of Canadian guitarist Sherry Ostapovitch, now based in the UK. Her reputation has slowly built up on the back of impressive live performances and a handful of EPs. Crafted out of melodic, looped guitar lines, rattles, scrapes and buzzes, OKeh is her most musical release to date.
These are certainly 'songs', but Ostapovitch stretches each of them almost to breaking point with delicate abstract explorations. They create an elusive atmosphere, like music seeping through the dusty gooves of an old 78 rpm LP issued by the legendary OKeh label, whose release of an album by blues singer Mamie Smith was an inspiration for this CD.
After years of listening to various guitarists demolish and fragment their instrument's inherent nature, it's a joy to hear someone unafraid to allow tunes to filter through the rubble. This is where OKeh triumphs. The 15 pieces here are testament to the removal of unnecessary elements in Sherry's musice but one shouldn't expect Reductionism in the vein of Taku Sugimoto or Annette Krebs. OKeh is an album of fully-fledged guitar songs, successfully using a number of approaches without being restrained by any of them. -Jez Riley the wire April 2006 | Guitar strings gently scuffed with sandpaper; the scratches looping and fluttering around the room, a simple guitar motif looped then played over, layer after layer added in front of your eyes until the once wintry sound envelops you both warm and complete. As schizophrenic as the times we live in, it can change at any given moment, effects boxes twisting the sound into a cavernous roar of glitch and throbbing clicks. Light and dark, loud and quiet, its somewhat comforting to know that a guitar can still confuse and enchant an audience. Music for One is Sherry, a guitar or two, a barrage of effects pedals, and a box of tricks. |
Emerging out of the vibrant Nottingham scene that has produced Wauvenfold (Wichita Records), Flotel (Expanding/Arable Records),and Morgan and Kamal (City Centre Offices) amongst others, Music for One has played with such disparate acts as; Sunn0)), Urban Myth, Do Make Say Think, Fly Pan Am, Stars of the Lid, Hanged Up, AGF and appeared at both the Bristol and Manchester Ladyfests in 2003. After two well received CDR only albums of live and studio material, the insides of her insides is her first vinyl release.
-Rich Hopkins (Seren Records)
For those not in the know, Music for one is a one-woman band from Nottingham via Canada. She plays in Nottingham every now and then (last seen supporting Sunn 0))) but unfortunately Iv'e never seen her when I havent been completely wasted and not exactly in the mood for whats on offer. Listening to this now however, I feel like I've really missed out. Bridging the worlds of the avant-garde and post rock she manages to create a quite beautiful record.
| The first side is based around a single quitar riff played gorgeously with layers of guitar underneath it keeping it interesting. Its a little like a segment of a Godspeed! You Black Emperor track or Six Organs of Admittance. In fact at times it even sounds a little like Tristeza, albeit less rock orientated. It builds up to a clatter of applause and its over. Quietly simple but in no way boring or wimpy. The b-side is a totally different affair, crunchy guitar echoes infused with odd time changes and noise outbursts to fuck with your head. I'ts like something from the Ever Borneo LP that the No Neck Blues Band put out last year or maybe even Wolf Eyes. Chris Bress
Collective Zine | THIS 7" IS TWO SUPERB LIVE RECORDINGS FROM THE LITTLE KNOWN BUT VERY TALENTED MUSIC FOR ONE. THE MAIN TRACK IS A DELIGHTFULLY MELANCHOLYINSTRUMENTAL GUITAR PIECE WITH A GORGEOUS MELODIC SOUND AND GENTLE DELAY EFFECTS TO ACCENTUATE THE MOOD. THE FLIPSIDE IS AN EXPERIMENTAL PIECE WITH MORE OF AN AVANT GARDE FEEL. A CLUNKING, MECHANICAL RHYTHM COUPLED WITH SCRATCHY SOUNDS AND GUITAR LICKS MAKE FOR UNCOMFORTABLE BUT INTRIGUING LISTENING. EXCELLENT. IF YOU DON'T KNOW HER OTHER STUFF YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT THE OTHER TWO CDS AS THEY ARE BOTH SUPERB AS WELL. -SMALLFISH RECORDS "A great 7" on Seren records by Music for One. This is lovely instrumental guitar music built up live using one of those special effects pedals. The nearest comparison is a minimilist (early) Papa M or Tristeza but there's also some of the sounds of Yellow 6 or that great Bexar Bexar album we loved so much last year. If the A side is pretty in extreme the B side visits more avant garde territories being a collection of noises and random guitar plucks. Well worth investigating."
-Norman Records
New nicely-packaged 45 from this Canadian born female guitarist now living in Nottingham. Side A builds upon and interweaves several simple guitar melodies which are both hypnotic and uplifting. "Post-rock" in the best sense of the word. The flip is a very different prospect- a slice of heavily improvised avant-guitar noise; processed buzzings, scratchings and scrapings which would not sound out of place on a Fred Frith record. Quite refreshing.
sea of shining shoryobuni
OUTSIDE IN IS THE SECOND RELEASE FROM THIS TALENTED MUSICIAN / SONGWRITER AND THIS TIME IT'S A TEN TRACK SELECTION OF LIVE TRACKS RECORDED IN THE UK AND CANADA. A SLIGHTLY MORE DIVERSE RANGE OF BEAUTIFUL GUITAR BASED TRACKS THAN THE FIRST CD (INCLUDING A COUPLE OF COLLABORATIONS) IT MANAGES TO BE ATMOSPHERIC, HAUNTING, FRAGILE AND POWERFUL AT THE SAME TIME. TRULY EXCELLENT AND HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. smallfish records I would say she plays a calming expansive music that opens up the sound of the guitar. It is harmonic and melodic, without necasserily using conventional chord sequences or tunes. Whilst Jazz fans may bemoan the lack of twiddling, she clearly displays technique and a control of the instrument... -Daniel Weaver (alectro_ecoustic) "MUSIC FOR ONE IS TRANSPLANTED CANADIAN SHERRY WHO NOW LIVES IN NOTTINGHAM. AND, BY GUM, SHE'S WRITING SOME ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC MUSIC. GENTLY SOOTHING SOLO GUITAR PIECES THAT OOZE ATMOSPHERE AND DRIP WITH ETHEREAL BEAUTY. THE SIX TRACKS ON THIS CD/EP ARE CLEVERLY ARRANGED AND USE OCCASIONAL ELECTRONICS TO ADD AN EVEN GREATER LEVEL OF DEPTH. AS YOU MAY HAVE GUESSED, I'M EXTREMELY KEEN AND I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS VERY HIGHLY." -smallfish records� "Music for One: solo electric guitar player who played at the first Beautiful Music. She uses pedals, sometimes with no inputs, just the sounds passed from pedal to pedal. Maybe with some small noise to start the chain going. Sounds abstract yet refined. Her guitar stuff is reminiscent of Fahey-Grubbs-O'Rourke at times." -Discorder, that mag from CITR Definitely a good start to a gig and things only got better with Music for One - a band comprising of only Sherry, her guitar and a whole load of effects pedals and clever boxes - and long may it remain so because she gets better every time I see her. The sounds that her guitar makes range from stark melancholy to strange outer-space sounds via glitchy electronica, all of which are pretty amazing. That combined with some mind-bending visuals and a couple of whiskeys meant that I had to take a seat after her performance.
- Rich Hopkins (stolenwine e-zine) Canadian, Sherry Ostapovitch, performed solo electric guitar. Using a variety of electronic pedals and devices she conjured up warm layers of sound which often sounded like other choral or orchestral instruments. Occasionally pushing the atmosphere into jagged tension to keep us on our toes, she took us on a leisurely journey into the imagination. A delicate and intelligent ambient music.
- Daniel Weaver (alectro_ecoustic)
Sherry mangles her guitar exquisitely.
- Anton Lockwood (Night With No Name)
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