Wayne Robert Thomas - Canticles of Bliss (2021)

"Initial recordings for 'Canticles Of Bliss' started in October of 2019 at my home studio located just south of Indianapolis. At the start of 2020 I continued recording songs off and on up until late April where I then took a break and then picked up the guitar again in July. By the beginning of August of that year I had everything wrapped up. An additional guitar was added to a track, as well as a mutated brass recording was featured on another. I used an electric guitar for the recordings while utilizing very little effects and a loop station. Quite a lot of the tracks I made ended up not making the cut and a considerable amount of time was then spent listening to a small selection of songs. They were rearranged a few times before I felt they could be finalized.

Although the works of Hildegard Von Bingen were an obvious inspiration in the title of this album, these seven songs aren't necessarily canticles in a religious sense. Nor can I sing that well, but instead have found a voice in the electric guitar which I have often felt to be an extension of my body. A few of these songs here were done in one take, often with a loop station accompanying the main riff. Many of the track titles are references to a place here in the midwest, a fictional map to a video game, or a phrase that really stuck with me. I hope for the listener that these songs will at least resonate with them in some way."