Dripstone
A collection of intimate, through-composed acoustic guitar works.
After two decades in the grit of the Midwest electric scene, Dripstone represents a creative distillation.
“Thomas Nordlund’s ‘Dripstone’ is an alluring collection of four meditative sound paintings... dark, cavernous, musical landscapes.”
Following the release of my electric EP Through The Clearing, I packed up and relocated to Mérida, Mexico, stripping my canvas down to a single acoustic guitar.
This physical constraint sparked an intensive year of composition—a return to the solo classical foundations of my youth and the acoustic discipline first instilled in me by my mentors, Jaime Guiscafré and Tim Sparks.
The resulting four-track EP is an entirely through-composed dialogue between guitar and percussion (Greg Schutte). Blending hybrid fingerstyle with harmonic concepts studied under Peter Mazza, I tuned the guitar down and used low, resonant open-string voicings to build a dark and intimate sonic architecture from just six strings.
“There is a cinematic quality to Nordlund’s work which draws the listener into each musical vignette. Highly recommended for discerning fans of acoustic music.”
Transcriptions
Complete transcriptions.
Includes:
Instant download
Note-for-note accurate: standard notation + tablature (.pdf)
Interactive: Guitar Pro source files (.gp)
Songs:
Dripstone
Inner Fields
Toh
Open Hills
Credits
Thomas Nordlund — Acoustic Guitar
Greg Schutte - Percussion
Produced by Thomas Nordlund
Recorded and Mixed by Jason McGlone
The Hideaway Studios, Minneapolis, MN
Mastered by Rob Schlette
Anthem Mastering, St. Louis, MO
Thomas Nordlund's EP, "Dripstone," is an alluring collection of four meditative sound paintings. His musical journey began more than three decades ago, with private instruction eventually leading to a degree in music. On "Dripstone" Nordlund forgoes his electric centered ventures to focus on the sonic intricacies of the acoustic. The guitarist creatively lowers his instrument's tuning to create dark, cavernous, musical landscapes. Using hybrid picking Nordlund captures the intimate harmonies of his reflective compositions. Percussionist Greg Schutte provides thoughtful rhythmic backdrops throughout the recording. The album begins with the title track featuring pensive, melodic phrases and slow, deliberate fingerboard harmonies. "Inner Fields" contains lush, open-stringed harmonics accented by sparce percussive swells. The contemplative "Toh" showcases subtle, intuitive dialogues between Nordlund and Schutte. The album culminates with "Open Hills" where repetitive, melodic chord sequences unfold into vast sonic panoramas. There is a cinematic quality to Nordlund's work which draws the listener into each musical vignette. "Dripstone" is an enthralling selection of reflective compositions, highly recommended for discerning fans of acoustic music.
— James Scott, Minor 7th