Steve Tibbetts

At once his most accessible work and also very experimental, Tibbetts' first album was released independently in 1976 before being picked up by Frammis. He began recording it while an art student at Macalaster College in Minnesota in the electronic music studio of the school on a four-track recorder. Still working on the album when he graduated, he ended up finishing it clandestinely late at night by sneaking into the school. The resulting album of totally self realized songs is great fun to listen to, as he used the studio as an instrument, mixing tape loops and effects with impressionistic acoustic guitar playing. Even at this young age, he's equally at home with finger style guitar, psychedelic and world musics, and the soundscapes he creates are both introspective and adventurous. Highly recommended.