Liner notes and album credits for Parabola  

When I first met Kevin Kastning, I felt that he is first of all a brilliant musician, an improviser who was able to make me forget what instruments he plays. He instinctively avoided the usual way of musical solutions on his guitars. It was as if he was from another solar system. When we finished our first recordings, I felt that we were both elevated to a different level of playing music. We mutually fertilized each other’s soul.
Being supported on this recognition we decided to record some more music in duo. One year later we met again and in the same way we recorded two more albums using the same approach. It seemed that no matter which tunings we used, we just played and it sounded as if it were composed. The music we played had a consciousness and a instinctive side. As we both played baritone guitars, we had the possibility to consciously shape the voicing of the different music layers, and as a result it was like a two-member string quartet. This instinctively played music showed an incredibly strong structure, never-before heard chords with a mysterious inner logic. This was the point when I could formulate to myself that the music just happens. We are a psycho-somatic interface to manifest the music. The composed or improvised music shows only one thing for me: where the soul is just wandering. The music sometimes seems to me as a real living resonant entity that comes, touches, and washing through our soul; then vanishes.

- Sándor Szabó
Vac, Hungary
October 2008

One of the definitions of a parabola is that of a parabolic reflector, which is a curved mirror or similar device which concentrates various reflected light sources into a common focal point. Using a parabola of this configuration, sunlight may be captured and focused into a burning-light. In July 2008, Sándor Szabó and I again met in the recording studio. In the year which had passed since we recorded the albums Resonance and Parallel Crossings, we had both been experimenting with new tunings for the extended 12-string baritone. Though each of us were exploring unknown territory, we simultaneously arrived at divergent locations with different tunings. We blended our new intervalic tunings, and these previously unheard and undiscovered harmonic environments and textural atmospheres impacted our new compositions. The compositions on this album were powerfully influenced by these experimental tunings; the shape, the form, the textures, the content; all unique. The parabola in this circumstance are the compositions, focusing the many light sources and colors of these new tunings into art. This parabola blended both our instrumental voices, along with the discoveries of new tunings, into sharply focused new compositions.

- Kevin Kastning
Groton, Massachusetts USA
November 2008

All compositions by Kevin Kastning and Sándor Szabó

Recorded at Studio Traumwald
Massachusetts, USA
on July 3, 2008

Recording engineered by Kevin Kastning
Recording mixed and mastered by Sándor Szabó at Tandem Records Experimental Studio: Vac, Hungary

Cover photograph: Untitled, by Lea Hawkins; 2008
Graphic design by Lea Hawkins: Shoalhaven Heads, Australia

Recorded at 24-bit/96k high resolution. No equalization, compression, or limiting was employed in this recording.


Sándor Szabó would like to thank Kevin Kastning, Therese Kastning, Mary Faith and everyone at the John Pearse Strings company, Lance McCollum for the wonderful 12-string baritone, Brian Zolner and Casey Dowdell at Bricasti Design for the incredible M7 reverb, and Katalin Németh for helping to edit the album.

Kevin Kastning extends special thanks to Sándor Szabó for the inspiration and faith; Therese Kastning; Richard Hoover and everyone at Santa Cruz Guitars; Mary Faith and everyone at John Pearse Strings; Daniel Roberts; Brian Zollner and Casey Dowdell at Bricasti Design; Lea Hawkins; French Roast coffee, and everyone at Greydisc Records.



Kevin Kastning plays Santa Cruz guitars and John Pearse strings



www.kevinkastning.com

www.sandorszabo.com





Soli Deo Gloria
 

The packaging of Parabola was printed on 100% recycled materials.