Detailed Reviews [Mark Wingfield - 2018 - "Tales from the Dreaming City"]

Prolusion. UK guitarist Mark Wingfield is a well established artist in music circles, with lots of praise coming his way also from the music press for a good number of years by now. Besides occasional band projects and various collaborations, he has also established himself firmly as a solo artist for the past couple of decades and a bit with a dozen or so albums to his name. The album "Tales From The Dreaming City" dates back to 2018, and was released by the then US based label Moonjune Records.

Analysis. In terms of the progressive rock tradition, it is the jazzrock part of it that is explored on this instrumental album. And as Wingfield has the guitar as his primary instrument, it is very much a guitar centric production we get in this case. The nature of this album is of a rather specific kind though, and perhaps without too many of the tendencies many people tend to expect whenever a guitarist has the leading role on an instrumental production. This isn't a case of the guitar taking more of a back seat however. Guitar solo runs are a staple throughout, but it is the nature of those that makes this album a bit different from what one might call the norm. Flowing and floating textures is the name of the game here, with drawn out notes and light tones and timbres being the order of the day. A guitar sound that correspond very well indeed with the name of this production. Dreamladen and atmospheric being key words here. The bassist and the drummer support these motions in a subtle but expressive manner, adding fills and wandering melody lines when appropriate, and both of these instrumentalists are given space and room to shine in their own right. Both in a supporting role but also when given the chance to provide some leads on an occasional basis. Rather more important to these dremladen constructions are the soundscapes produced by Wingfield and the synthesizer contributions by keyboardist Vantomme, both of which emphasize the dreamlike propensities of the landscapes explored. That some of the songs, by plan or accident, also incorporate tones, timbres or elements I tend to associate with world music adds a little bit of a further emphasis to the dreamlike aspects of the landscapes explored. Occasionally with darker tones adding a little bit of a mystical sounding touch to the proceedings. With excellent, high quality mix and production as the icing on the cake, so to speak.

Conclusion. "Tales From The Dreaming City" is an album that deliver what the name suggests. If stories told in instrumental form and following the jazzrock tradition sounds like your kind of music, and you also enjoy the guitar used to produce and convey flowing and floating textures that are elegant and beautiful in this specific setting, then this is an album that you will enjoy all the way through. A solid production on all levels.

Progmessor: August 2024
The Rating Room