Simply, breathtakingly beautiful. Ben Harper is an incredibly talented performer and, here, he shows how the lap steel guitar can be used to create musical poetry. It needs no words. Harper has just announced the release of ‘Winter is for Lovers’, a new solo album coming soon. The record will feature 15 original compositions, just Harper and his lap steel, imagined as a symphony. He explains the album: “This is my first entirely instrumental album. It is stark, bare-bones, just me and my lap steel guitar. It is purposefully produced to sound intimate and spare as if I am playing in your living room.
Upon first listen it may be surprising or catch some people off guard because it is dramatically stripped-down in contrast to a lot of what we hear today. I am a big fan of flamenco, classical, Hawaiian and blues guitar, and I hope these influences are all somehow represented within ‘Winter Is For Lovers’. I have been composing this record for most of my adult life, and the challenge this record presented to me was completely new. To record an entire album with one guitar and no words, where every single nuance was under a microscope, was more demanding than any record I have made to date, and also more rewarding.”
This is enchanting music from a rare talent, pulling all his influences together to create affecting songs of real emotional resonance. Sit back and enjoy.
