Prana Crafter - Enter The Stream

(This review first appeared in issue #82 of Shindig! magazine.)

Most musicians are inspired to some extent by their surroundings. Few transmute the experience of landscape into music as artfully as William Sol AKA Prana Crafter. From his home in the woodlands of Washington State's Olympic peninsula he's released several cassette albums of nature-inspired psych-folk that combine the vocal vulnerability of Neil Young, the exploratory virtuosity of Jerry Garcia with an Eno-esque knack for ambient textures.

Enter The Stream is his most engaging album so far, a mix of downbeat Americana and sonic exploration. Against a backdrop of trickling water, the title track sets the mood on a record that champions the eternal beauty of the natural world over the ugliness of contemporary global politics. In Sol's hands even white noise and scales more usually associated with doom-rock have a soothing quality, as evidenced on 'Moon Through Fern Lattice' and 'The Spell' respectively. As rejuvenating and refreshing as a wild swim.

Prana Crafter - MindStreamBlessing

Mindful and meditative music from the Washington woodlands.

I've written before about the American musician William Sol, who musical nom-de-plume is Prana Crafter. His previous LP Rupture of Planes (on US label Deep Water Acres) mixed UK acid-folk with textural soundscapes to great effect. MindStreamBlessing, Sol's latest LP, freshly released on Eiderdown Records doesn't give away its influences as much but that's no bad thing. The finger-picked guitar is still there as are the electric flights of fancy but this time round the inspiration comes from deep within his own range of emotions.

Using a simple palette of guitar, drums and organ the music has a timeless, elemental quality, inspired by nature and vistas and the feeling of being far from the madding crowd. Fans of the much-missed Windham Hill label will feel an affinity with the music here. This six song LP is the perfect soundtrack for insomniac nights and the stillness and of early mornings. Don't expect hooks, riffs or gimmicks, but do expect subtle, slow-burning pieces that given time will have a deeper, longer lasting satisfaction. A fine example of solitary yet subtly cosmic Americana.

Released on digital download or as a limited edition cassette (100 copies only).

Click here for Prana Crafter on Twitter.

Click here for Eiderdown Records.

New band alert - Prana Crafter

A new name to me but one well worthy of attention is Prana Crafter, the musical vehicle for one William Sol. Hailing from the deep wilderness of Washington State's woodlands, his mix of homespun acid-folk and meditative new-age soundscapes perfectly captures the inherent melancholy of all points north.

His latest album release Rupture of Planes (on US label Deep Water Acres) is a great starting point, and takes its cues from vintage British acid-folk but opens it up with a widescreen American feel. This tumbleweed meets mushroom approach is a surprisingly intoxicating one, the music veering from the pastoral to the full on electric freakouts often within the same track, finger picked acoustic guitars give way to bristling electric solos in a manner not dissimilar to the recent LP from Heron Oblivion.

Weather, forests and landscape are returning themes, as are their effects on human moods and psyche. Fans of the aforementioned Heron Oblivion, The Greek Theatre, or nature mysticism in general will find much to enjoy here. Also worthy of investigation is the Opal Crown Transmission EP available via Prana Crafter's Bandcamp page. Check out the links to both releases below.