A former member of Ecstatic Sunshine and Ponytail, Dustin Wong has also released several experimental solo records in which he pushes the boundaries of six-string songcraft. He has now followed up 2010’s Infinite Love, what we called “two discs of gorgeous guitar meanderings layered with tape loops and sound explorations,” with Dreams Say, View, Create, Shadow Leads (Thrill Jockey, February 21). The Hawaii-born, Japan-raised techno-geek describes the record, in part, thusly: “When I begin to explore and to build a song through a series of pedals, I begin with the tuner. It helps keep my guitar’s pitch consistent. An octave pedal and the distortion pedals allow me to change the textures and colors of the guitar. The delay pedal determines the tempo and the pattern. Once these sounds are determined, it then gets replicated and repeated through a loop pedal. Repeating that process, I lay different sounds and melodies on top. After the loop pedal comes the envelope filter that changes the color of the sounds but in a different way, more like a blend or like a dye. At the end of this chain of pedals awaits another delay pedal that corresponds to the delay pedal before the looper, further accentuating and changing the patterns of the loop. I see all these pedals as a kind of textile factory. The sheets and colors are determined, then the patterns are laid on top, one layer after another until it becomes a fabric mille feuille. Once that cake looks done it gets replicated again through another delay pedal. I can keep building these sounds on top of each other and decide whether I want to take half of the cake’s slices or not. If I do, I can gaze at the symmetrical void of what I have taken.” Got that? We might not understand what he’s talking about, but we can tell you that he bakes one helluva tasty cake.
Dreams Say, View, Create, Shadow Leads features sixteen tracks that attempt to re-create Wong’s live experience; among the songs are “Abstract Horse Slow Motion,” “Triangle Train Stop,” “Pencil Drove Hill Moon,” “Space Tunnel Graffiti,” and “Diagonally Talking Echo,” the video of which can be seen above. For this new project, Wong is also inviting listeners to send him recordings of their dreams and he will convert them into a piece of music for his Soundcloud page starting on February 20. But before that, you can catch Wong live at 285 Kent on January 21 ($12, 8:00) with Akron/Family and Bad Weather California and at Glasslands on February 3 ($10, 8:30) with Hospitality and Glass Ghost. Wong will also be holding a record release party on February 24 at La Sala at Cantina Royal in Brooklyn with Lichens.