carl weingarten: living in the distant present

Azure Vista present a reissue of Carl Weingarten's Living In The Distant Present, previously only released on cassette in 1985 on Weingarten's own Multiphase Records. The album is a rare treat for fans of guitar ambient, tape loops, and the experimental side of new age music. When Carl Weingarten is one of the unsung heroes of American minimalism. Even though he's been active for close to four decades, his work is just now starting to receive the praise it deserves. On Living Ín The Distant Present slowly shifting synth patterns is joined with his signature guitar playing -- a tranquil, stretched-out sound that blur the lines between played and processed, occasionally sonically closer to violins or flutes than guitars. Incredibly sparse and evocative, there's a tasteful zen-quality to these 12 tracks. Weingarten's compositions appear both timeless and tranquil. Living In The Distant Present bridges the gap between the most cosmic krautrock of the 1970s, the experimental American new age music from the 1980s, and modern day minimalism such as Windy & Carl and Christopher Willits. In his concern for sonic texture Weingarten's music resembles Brian Eno's ambient records, especially his collaborative efforts with Robert Fripp, where guitars are gradually looped and processed into shimmering clouds of sound. transparent blue vinyl.