Chas Smith—composer, inventor, instrument builder, and performer—has created his own musical world, complete with its own instruments and “language.” It is a world of carefully...

Chas Smith—composer, inventor, instrument builder, and performer—has created his own musical world, complete with its own instruments and “language.” It is a world of carefully sculpted textures that never sit absolutely still, but are always evolving. Critics have repeatedly compared Smith’s sometimes beautiful, sometimes brooding compositions to those of Ligeti. The three pieces on this new recording feature the composer performing works for pedal steel guitars, composer-designed-and-built crotales and sound sculptures, zithers, and a 1948 Bigsby lap guitar. “Chas Smith composes and performs epic soundscapes...music that reflects the wide-open spaces of the American West… [C]loser attention reveals his subtle layering of instrumental textures. The overall effect is of a shimmering, reverberating soundscape, extraordinarily evocative of the boundless spaces that clearly inspired it: an endless desert under a throbbing sun.” (The Wire magazine) “If anyone needed proof that Smith’s music runs deeper than the novelty impact of gigantic, multi-rodded creatures struck and bowed with odd-shaped apparatuses, An Hour Out of Desert Center nails it…. Smith builds shimmering soundscapes. He stacks track after track of crystal-clear notes and motifs…. Its beauties are immediately palpable, yet they don’t fade with repeated listens…. Beautiful.” (All-Music Guide) “For anyone interested in the music of today—and of tomorrow—this disc is essential listening.” (Int’l Record Review)