Guitarist Denis Taaffe Completes His 100th Modern Rock Album After Releasing 76 Albums In 2006, 10 In 2007!!

Solo electric guitarist Denis Taaffe, who uses regular guitar and guitar loops done on the fly, completes and releases his 100th full length modern rock guitar album entitled Modern Rock guitar Volume 100 "Natural Textures". The album has 17 tracks and a running time of 71:45.All of the material on the albums were recorded live and improvised on the spot.

Denis reflects on completing and releasing 100 albums. "Well, this album is a milestone for me as it is my 100th Modern rock guitar Album!!! This was a goal of mine, to complete and release 100 full length albums. This album is a solid album with concise themes and musical direction. I basically went with an initial direction which came out of the first track which to me sounded like a scene in a film which would show a mysterious creek, thus the track "foggy Creek". With this musical direction as a base to start from, it was easy to expand on the basic theme. The swamp theme is very silly but it also conjures many images that could picture in a film and it made creative musical ideas and directions easy to follow. It certainly is a rock album and I used my usual looping style and improvisation. Granted , I also had a lot of fun with tracks such as "cheap Lumber" and other tracks taking this theme of swamps to the extreme. But overall, I really like this album and from a listening viewpoint, it seems to flow very well as far as albums go and while each track was improvised, I do think they share a common vision and musical direction which makes for a very solid album.

As I worked with looping and creating these looping layers on the fly, I realized that I could improvise not only in a composition, but could improvise the composition itself. This really took some experimenting but now seems so much second nature to me. I mean, it removes any barriers, if you want to suddenly add a chord or another rhythm or have it go in a different direction musically this allows you to do so. The trick is to make these improvisations seem to have a structure or else it would just sound like noise to the listener. Improvising the composition on the spot does not mean just slapping whatever together like a big jumble of noise haha. If, anything, I strive to make it sound worked out a head of time even though it really is improvised on the spot. What makes it work is simply to listen to perhaps a drum rhythm or bass rhythm or guitar chord and begin by complementing it with a second part and it builds from there. Over the years, I found that you can go in any direction you want within an improvisation and I am always surprised in what direction these improvisations go, sometimes into new musical territories for me. Also, improvisation gives you a live feel and an exciting feel that you just don’t get from non-improvised songs. I just find the normal verse-chorus-bridge-verse and similar worked out compositions a bit boring to listen too. In a way, improvising not only during the composition but the composition itself allows a freedom musically that I just don’t hear in worked out music. I admit it kind of ruined my record collection, as music worked out ahead of time never sounded the same to me after discovering looping and improvisation. I sometimes will do one or two worked out compositions just for fun, but that is usually just because I used some prerecorded samples for fun. I don’t see myself changing from completely improvised albums, it is just a style that really challenges me as a musician and I sometimes capture magical moments that I would have never even thought of with a conventional worked out recording. Perhaps, I might do a conventional worked out composition here or there just for fun, as I would find working out guitar parts a head of time a real luxury, though I don’t see my self doing another conventional album, I would find it stifling in many ways. However, it might be fun to do, so maybe one day….

While I am pleased to reach a goal of mine in completing the albums, that is not what pleases me most at all. I am much more pleased with the quality of the albums and how I have grown and developed as a musician and also how I have developed my own style. Compared to my early albums, I think my music became a little more mature and my musical style more refined. As well as my guitar playing has improved a lot and I still think I can improve quite a bit. I find that improvisation and recording all these albums has really helped me to develop my own style and approach to music not to mention my ear. In any case, I hope that these 100 albums to be my body of work and I certainly do enjoy listening to them as it is definitely a world unto itself and I hope others will enjoy them as well.

I also think I have learned so very much from the albums musically, everything from the effective simplicity of a few well placed notes to even trying out musical styles I don't always play. I also learned a lot gear wise, simplicity and what works for me and what doesn't. Sometimes what people perceive to be the best gear setups may not be the best for me in any case. I do try to improve my setup, but I have also come to find gear that works well for me or combinations of gear that work well together. I just really enjoy creating my albums and enjoy listening to them, so while I have the opportunity to do so, which I don't take for granted, I think I will continue."

You can hear mp3 samples of tracks from all 100 albums at Denis's website http://www.dtguitar.com