Following his recent singles Come On and Gasoline, the British slide desperado, talented blues-rock composer, and electromotive guitar-slinger TROY REDFERN is set to release his T. Rex flavoured blues rock anthem Sweet Carolina this Friday September 23rd. It’s the third single from his very highly anticipated album The Wings of Salvation that’s due to be released the same day.
Produced by Dave Marks (Hans Zimmer) at the UK’s Dulcitone Studios, The Wings of Salvation is an thrilling new chapter in Redfern’s career as a slide guitarist and as a force for innovation in the recording studio.
“My goal was to make a record that was a true representation of where I am right now as an artist,” says Redfern. “I wanted to create something in the spirit of the old school classic rock albums that I grew up listening to…” he says.
a clattery-spongeous riff that will sex you up for the rest of your day!
Raw Ramp Music Mag
After releasing an unprecedented six albums in just under two years, Troy’s new album The Wings of Salvation, is his most compelling work to date. The album showcases Redfern’s excitingly concise style of songwriting, his uber-tight arrangements, and his incredible slide guitar playing, which we have characterised as: “scritching wooze and parched metallochrome divertimento!”
“I felt like the time was right to head back into the studio as the creative juices were flowing,” says Redfern. “On the new album, I wanted to approach the recording process by starting with a completely clean slate.”
“I wrote the new album from scratch in just under five weeks, in the same way that the bands that I grew up listening to use to do. It makes everything fresh and immediate. It’s an accurate snapshot of where you are as an artist at that moment.”
“Dave Marks, my producer, and I also decided early on we wanted an old school aesthetic for this album, in that we wanted no studio fixes, no autotune, no drum editing or samples. It had to be real, with only complete takes, no chopping up parts in post-production to make them sound perfect.”
“We wanted an album that authentically captured my sound. I feel satisfied in knowing that we achieved what we set out to accomplish, and I couldn’t be prouder...”
Featuring his 1935 Dobro resonator along with his Magnatone Twilighter amplifier, Redfern reflects: “I found this to be a killer combination. It’s such a huge tone without the need for layers and layers of guitar tracks.”
‘Sweet Carolina’ (music video shared below) is a plethoric tumble of rhythms, with steadfastly fuzzy and munchable dark-note scritchiness, and a clattery-spongeous riff that will sex you up for the rest of your day! If you’ve wondered what Alice Cooper would have sounded like (in your fantasies) if he’d ever played with Steve Currie on bass, Chris Spedding on guitar, Bill Legend on drums and was conducted by Tony Visconti, listen to this and see for yourself! Welcome back to 1972! Hoorah!
Words: @neilmach 2022 ©
Main photo by Adam Kennedy