One of my most favorite quotes of all time is Hans Christian Andersen’s “where words fail, music speaks.” Brooklyn, New York’s Alec Berlin is an instrumentalist currently releasing music the essence of that sentiment. His warm, soothing, brand of guitar-laden compositions have been featured here on the #LT1KF blog before. Most recently, in December with the single “Minir Maad” (by Napsebasty) and prior to that in November with his single “Patchen Avenue” (by Madzen).
The thing I enjoy about Alec Berlin’s music the most is how diverse it is stylistically. When listening you can tell that he is very much an accomplished and competent guitar player in more than a few musical theories. This isn’t just a guitar player shredding for 5 minutes straight, it’s more than Blues licks the whole time, and it’s not just 100% contemporary.
You’re bound to get some chicken-pickin in there and steel guitar too. It’s effectively the spectrum of guitar lessons that I have failed over the years. An embodiment of these observations comes to us today by way of his latest single, “LaNoise,” released on 01-12-2023. I’m particularly moved by how country it can feel, setting up a down-to-earth tone, yet retain this Jazzy vibe to it as well throughout. Bandcampers engage! Berlin has also released the song to his Bandcamp catalog:
Alec Berlin states that he was inspired by the “warm, familiar grooves” of the legendary producer Daniel Lanois when composing this song. Hence, the name of the track. At first glance of the title, I of course was thinking “L.A. Noise,” but after reading Berlin’s press release clarifying the source of inspiration, that made listening to the song even more intriguing.
And it made a whole heck of a lot of sense too as I listened back. Lanois, a critically acclaimed grammy winning producer, has produced many albums for artists that Berlin’s stylistic arrangements call back to: Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Spoon, and Willie Nelson, just to name a few. Now, I know we just expressed that music speaks in this situation, more so than words, but Berlin did offer these words to describe the latest track:
(“LaNoise”) … takes you on a trip in comfort and style – all without leaving the comfort of your front porch, your cold beverage, and your favorite guitar.
Further pressed about the line of questioning, “Why no words?” Alec Berlin offered this explanation:
I liked the challenge, I thought it was an interesting avenue for exploration
Outside of Alec Berlin’s impressive instrumentation and arrangements, another thing that makes him a fascinating artist is his history in the music industry and “showbiz” in general. He has worked for more than two decades as an in-demand sideman on stages and studios. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, he moved to New York after earning an upper-Graduate degree in Jazz Performance.
He has shared stages with Elton John, James Taylor, Ben Folds Five, and more as well as performed on Broadway for a number of years. On that stage, he’s had the opportunities to perform on Green Day’s “American Idiot,” “Rent,” and “Bright Star” – written by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell. He’s even appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman. Amazing!
There’s more than that as well, I just cherry-picked a few highlights I particularly found remarkable in this bio. It is no wonder that his music sounds so accomplished and well-rounded. He has a wide perspective of the performing arts that many of us would struggle to even fathom. Check out his music and keep up with him online as he is a creative with something always in the works!
Don’t forget to support Alec Berlin and follow him on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, SoundCloud, YouTube, Apple Music, and Spotify You can also visit his official website. If you enjoy their music and are able to provide monetary support, you might consider downloading it on Bandcamp; for virtual concerts, you can go to songkick “Live from their sofa to yours”.
It also helps to stream and share their music; you can obviously find it in the following Playlists: Less Than 1,000 Followers, Fresh Singles, Indie Only, Alterindie State Of Mind, Sickest & Dopest, 12 New Songs This Week, Unknown But Essentials! And Take It Easy.
Remember that you can always find me here AMS Radio for all my social media and collaborations.
P.S. If you enjoy discovering new artists and brand-new music you can subscribe to this blog Less Than 1,000 Followers and follow the Playlist with all the artists that we have presented here!
This coverage was created via MusoSoup #Sustainablecurator
https://www.musosoup.com/sustainable-curator
A terrific guitar instrumental!
A big fan of Alec’s work, really fantastic musician.