The Infamous Stringdusters’ banjoist Chris Pandolfi has announced a new solo album, titled Trance Banjo, set for release on February 12th. In support of the album’s announcement, Pandolfi released the first Trance Banjo single on Friday, “Astral Plane”.
Pandolfi will release the album under his Trad Plus moniker via Americana Vibes, marking the first follow-up to his 2015 debut, Interference. Other than fiddle contributions from Stuart Duncan and drum work from long-time collaborator Nick Falk, Pandolfi produced and engineered the entire album over three years at his Denver, CO studio.
“This is a concept record that grew out of some experimentation that was happening as I finished my last TRAD PLUS record, Interference, in 2015. I was searching for texture in the music, and I started creating my own vinyl samples from old classical records,” said Pandolfi in a statement.
“It was the perfect complement to all the clean, modern sounds of the virtual instruments I was using, and just sounded beautiful under the stuff I was writing on banjo. The writing progressed and the tracks just started growing from there, but it was a massive project, and it took being home during quarantine to really immerse myself in the project to where I could finish it,” he continued.
“Some tracks have 20 or more voices, so it was a lot to write, play and piece together. But I wanted this big, unique sound, and I am always trying to re-contextualize the banjo. That’s what Trance Banjo is all about.”
Check out the album’s lead single, “Astral Plane”, below and head to Pandolfi’s website for more information on Trance Banjo ahead of its release.
TRAD PLUS – “Astral Plane”
[Video: Americana Vibes]
[H/TÂ JamBase]