The joy of limitations. Who Is John Smith‘s “Chasing Frogs,” featuring polyrhythms that might have been tapped out on an acoustic guitar [actually that’s Yaw Amponsah on hand drums and prempremsoa -ed.] against a set of pinched guitar chords, is mesmerizing. There is that unique joy when simple recordings layer together and find that organic mesh. This was a pleasant surprise, and a reminder of how much can be done with what is easily around us. This piece could possibly be composed in a studio apartment with nothing but a single microphone and an iphone, but the effect of the piece is equal to what accomplished five-piece bands pull off with Nords and drums and mallets.
Who Is John Smith – Yaw Amponsah, Greg Campbell, and James Whetzel – will bring this intimate sound to Conor Byrne for the Ball of Wax 49 release show on Saturday, August 19th.