I have always admired Steve Tibbetts, as a sort of Lone Ranger in the ECM universe, with his singular process of creating his albums in his home studio. I have read how he works slowly, moving a mic an inch and trying once again to get an elusive sound out of his guitar – then trying again and again until it’s right.
His albums are indeed journeys: as he himself says, he doesn’t write traditional song-forms, with jazz changes and tightly written unison lines – all the kinds of things you hear from most guitarists. This lack of a recognizable short form allows for hearing new things each time around.
It’s like putting a space in the room, a 3d sound sculpture you can walk around and examine from all angles. The circular quality of the music of LIFE OF places me in a kind of trance state. The fact that Tibbett’s music has its edges of darkness is what gives the music its mystery, and makes it a far deeper dive than if it was merely “pretty.”
– Brian Whistler