The instructions were simple. A couple of years ago, Anthony Pirog reached out to old friends and new collaborators alike with an open-ended request: could they send him an original ambient track, between four and five minutes long, that he could then record on top of? He put “ambient” in quotes recognizing that each musician would have a different definition of the term.
This creative exercise set the template for Pirog’s rich and multifaceted new album called The Nepenthe Series, Vol. 1, released November 10th via Otherly Love. The album places the guitarist’s work in communion with musical luminaries like John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ataxia), Nels Cline (Wilco), Andy Summers (The Police) as well as longtime collaborators such as his wife, Janel Leppin, and Luke Stewart. With one exception, each of these nine compositions was initiated and conceived by a different collaborator; together they comprise a mesmerizing tapestry that evokes as many different ideas of ambient music as there are individual tracks.
If there’s a through line running across Pirog’s work, it’s a persistent desire to collaborate with musicians who push his creativity in new directions. Each track on The Nepenthe Series, Vol. 1 showcases a different side of his creativity. The album provides a kaleidoscope of approaches, from the haunting ambient drift of “Bernal Heights,” a solo cut that evokes William Basinski at his finest, to the floating unease of “Dense Blazing Star,” an unsettling piece that emerged after bassist Luke Stewart sent him a recording of tapping bass sounds that resembled a blazing fire. “It sounds like I’m playing a synth on that track,” Pirog notes, “but I’m using a vintage fuzz pedal from 1965.”
Several big-name guests bring considerable gravitas to The Nepenthe Series, Vol. 1 sparking Pirog’s ideas without overshadowing him. “There are some people on this record that I’ve looked up to since I was a little kid,” Pirog notes. The musician got to know John Frusciante years ago, after the RHCP guitarist came to a Messthetics show in L.A. After Frusciante commented that he was excited by the guitar playing, Pirog asked him to collaborate. The result is “Aurora” a slow-burn drone initiated by Frusciante playing synth. Wilco’s Nels Cline also appears, weaving a haunting soundscape through diatonic changes on the opening track “Ripples of Light.” “I wanted us both to sound like two hands on the same instrument,” Pirog explains.
Other guests of note include Andy Summers, the venerable former Police guitarist, and Brandon Ross, the jazz guitarist and composer. Summers, who once cited Pirog as his favorite current guitarist, delivered a fully constructed song structure with the melodic, twinkling “Inflorescence,” while Ross provided “Cirrus,” a meditative drone track that weaves in and out of several unexpected tonalities.
To celebrate the release of the album, we invited Anthony Pirog to participate in a special installment of VInyl Lives, our regular column spotlighting independent record stores around the country. Pirog is a proud resident of the Washington D.C. area and has a long history that includes playing with The Messthetics with former Fugazi members bassist Joe Lally and drummer Brendan Canty. For this edition of Vinyl Lives, Pirog selected three of his favorite record stores in the Washington D.C. area and shared with us what he thinks makes them each so special…
I have been frequenting this record store since I was a teenager so it really does mean a lot to me. They have a massive and excellent selection of jazz, rock, and classical music and have a large amount of audiophile quality and rare pressings as well. With an emphasis on both new and used LPs and CDS, I am sure to find something I need every single time I go there. They used to have another store in Arlington, VA that I would perform at quite a bit but their current space is perfect and they just expanded to include a room devoted primarily to jazz recordings. Highly recommended for every kind of vinyl enthusiast in the DMV area.
My brother took me here for the first time many years ago when he used to live right around the corner from the store in DC. These days, this establishment is between my home and where The Messthetics rehearse so I’m in here quite a bit. To me, this shop’s real strength is the jazz selection. I’ve bought so many extremely cool jazz records from them by people like Peter Brötzmann, Milford Graves, and Masayuki Takayanagi. Most of the LPs here are used but you’re going to find the classics and some of the more obscure free improv stuff with every visit. This is a super fun store to dig around in.
art sound language – Chevy Chase, DC
This is a relatively new store in DC’s Chevy Chase Arcade but has quickly become one of my favorites in the DMV. It is a highly curated collection of material that specializes in creative and free jazz, free improvisation, experimental and electronic music. They host community events and concerts and I have recently performed there for the first time. A very good selection of books and periodicals are available as well and I find this store to be truly inspired. I feel that DC is very fortunate to have a space like this available. It reminds me of a smaller version of Other Music. For people looking for adventurous music, look no further.
