Dripstone (EPK)
Release Date: September 25
Focus Track: "Dripstone" (Sept 4)
Audio
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: thomas@thomasnordlund.com
Release Date: September 25, 2026
EPK: thomasnordlund.com/dripstone-epk
Thomas Nordlund Strips Back to Bare Essentials on New Acoustic EP 'Dripstone'
After two decades on the Twin Cities circuit, the guitarist moves to Mexico with just one instrument, composing a raw, through-composed dialogue for guitar and percussion.
(Mérida, MX) — After releasing three records defined by gritty electric guitar and working twenty years as a sought-after sideman, guitarist Thomas Nordlund announces Dripstone, out September 25. This four-track EP marks a shift toward a solo-centric language. It was inspired by a period of intentional simplification and artistic realignment in Mérida, Mexico.
The catalyst for the project was a move that saw Nordlund leave behind the heavy gear and ensembles of his past. He arrived in Mexico with only a single acoustic guitar. This physical constraint sparked an intensive year of composition. He returned to the solo classical foundations of his youth and the acoustic discipline he first studied two decades ago under his mentors Jaime Guiscafré and Tim Sparks.
While the music on Dripstone is entirely through-composed, it carries the precise execution of a musician who spent two decades as a staple of the Minneapolis/St. Paul and the greater Minnesota music scenes. Nordlund utilizes a unique hybrid technique—blending classical fingerstyle with a commanding plectrum mastery. The result is a “mellow, dark, and intimate” harmonic architecture, informed by ongoing, remote studies with New York jazz guitar master Peter Mazza and centered on complex, resonant open-string voicings.
“Moving to Mexico with just one guitar forced me to find everything I needed within six strings,” says Nordlund. “After years of working in the grit of regional electric ensembles, I wanted to strip things back to the essentials. It’s a homecoming to the acoustic intimacy Tim Sparks instilled in me decades ago. Now, I execute it with the harmonic depth I’m currently exploring with Peter Mazza.”
Accompanied by a single percussionist, the music functions as a dialogue between the subterranean and the light, following a four-week "waterfall" release strategy starting September 4.
The Emergence Sequence:
Sept 4 - "Dripstone": A subterranean dialogue between guitar and percussion, mimicking the slow, patient growth of cave formations.
Sept 11 - "Inner Fields": A movement toward internal reflection, showcasing the lush, resonant possibilities of open-string architecture.
Sept 18 - "Toh": Named after the Yucatán cenote bird, this track bridges classical technicality with melodic warmth.
Sept 25 - "Open Hills" (Full EP Release): The sequence concludes by breaking from the density of the "cave" into an expansive, airy landscape.
Links:
Official Website: https://www.thomasnordlund.com
Listen (Private EP Stream): https://on.soundcloud.com/Yn9h2XJl1MfZj9iXq5
Bio
Thomas Nordlund is a guitarist, composer, and producer based in Mérida, Mexico. For two decades, he anchored the US Midwest music scene as a sought-after electric sideman and bandleader. This era culminated in the May 2026 release of his gritty, electric-centric cinematic record, Through The Clearing. After this intense five-track release, Nordlund embraced a drastic creative distillation, abandoning complex gear and ensembles to focus on a single steel-string acoustic guitar.
This artistic pivot led to his upcoming acoustic EP, Dripstone, set for release in September 2026. Recorded as a raw dialogue between guitar and sparse percussion, the EP explores how modern jazz harmony and classical structures behave under strict acoustic limits.
Though his geography and primary instrument have shifted, Nordlund’s playing retains the deep narrative quality that has defined his career. Skope Magazine praised his ability to "flesh out entire landscapes with only a few notes" and noted his fluid movement between poetic moments and expansive soundscapes. This skill takes center stage on his new acoustic material. His hybrid-picking technique bridges the fingerstyle discipline he developed under acoustic veteran Tim Sparks and the open-string chordal work he refined through study with New York jazz guitarist Peter Mazza.
Prior to his acoustic reinvention, Nordlund released three acclaimed instrumental records. These include his baritone-centric debut, Divide Avenue (2015), and Miles Left Behind (2018). He is a deeply trusted staple of the Minneapolis/St. Paul music scene. He has collaborated, performed, and recorded with a diverse roster of artists, including Chris Bates, John Raymond, Dead Man Winter, Sarah Morris, Maryam Yusefzadeh, and the Adam Meckler Orchestra.
Today, Nordlund’s work lies at the crossroads of classical structure, modern jazz, and cinematic storytelling. He shows that, whether playing electric or acoustic, the musical horizon is vast.
Selected Quotes
“Thomas Nordlund is musician as magician, a playing talent capable of fleshing out entire landscapes with only a few notes.”
“Nordlund is an anomaly in our world. This is an American musician who brings a good sense of what audiences want, his own ambitions, and musical facility to his work and manages to balance those competing elements better than most.”
“There’s an undeniable aura of confidence emanating from his guitar work and a poetic sensibility in what he chooses to play that fills the music with ghostly melancholy.”
Album Artwork
Press Photos
Photographer: Ernesto Celis Canto
Videos
Note to Editors: Cinematic live performance videos shot on location in Yucatan, Mexico, are currently in post-production and will be available for exclusive premiere consideration in late July.