Wayne Krantz released his first album, Signals, in 1990, but the fusion and improv electric guitar maverick had been recording on his own years before. Now, Krantz is releasing those early recordings as Music Room 1985, an unearthed collection of songs laid down in a garage studio in the summer of that year.
The collection feature six Krantz originals, with the guitarist also handling all the instruments on the tracks. You can listen to the first cut, Cowboy, above.
For the tracking, Krantz sent his guitar signal direct to a mixing board. No re-recording or remixing has been done to the original tapes.
Stylistically, Music Room 1985 is described as being “aligned with Prince’s knotted minimalist funk, the pop fusion hybrids of Ronnie Laws and George Benson, and the pure, endlessly fascinating guitar and rhythm box recordings of downtown icon Robert Quine”.
But these are also just reference points. “It wasn’t based on anything happening at the time,” Krantz said in a statement. "I was already on a contrary path and Music Room 1985 was my version of ‘alternative’: jazz/instrumental music that worked more like pop, melody-centric with verses, bridges, hooks and few solos.”
He continued, “The sounds on it aren’t very trendy, so it doesn’t sound too dated to be relevant. It’s fun to listen to: it still has the vitality, mojo, and integrity that initially made it sound good.”
Music Room 1985 will be released on March 19 via Abstract Logix. You can preorder the album here.
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