To an Ambient Hollywood

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Paul Duncan, 23 years old and currently living in Atlanta, Georgia, is originally from East Texas. He attributes some characteristics of his music to his geographical and cultural roots in the South; he grew up on classic rock and country radio, watching the fields pass by the windows of his parents' station wagon. Paul's style references artists like Papa M, David Grubbs, Jim O'Rourke, Sam Prekop, Will Oldham, and Nick Drake. His current influences come from a wide range of styles and sources: from This Heat and Talk Talk to Leonard Cohen and the films of Terry Gilliam and Luis Bunuel. Paul's music is a synthesis of the creative world around him. His love of the avant-garde blends with his southern roots to create a record that stands out against typical independent pop music or alt. country.

"To an Ambient Hollywood" is Paul Duncan's debut album, a document of music made and recorded at his former home in Savannah, Georgia, over the period of a year. Guitar, vibraphone, bass guitar, drums, pedal steel, trumpet, saxophone, piano, air organ, and synthesizers, as well as Paul's arresting voice, combine to create 40 minutes of carefully constructed music -- the kind that manipulates your brain and heart simultaneously. The songs move back and forth; the purely instrumental flows into beautifully integrated vocal tracks. Simple guitar loops give way to elegantly constructed arrangements, which act as if they've been there the whole time, poised and waiting.