departure

Axel Schultheiss - acoustic guitars, loops, effects

Axel Schultheiss is a very creative acoustic guitarist, who uses electronic equipment to create fascinating landscapes with his guitar. With loops, overdubs and delays he knows to create musical, eruptive and sensitive compositions. ... As you listen to the whole album you constantly feel you are on a musical journey in fascinating landscapes. Sometimes you think you hear a whole orchestra playing and you are constantly crossing borders in framed pictures. ... Resuming you can say, that Axel Schultheiss captures the listener in eight refreshing compositions in beautiful sceneries. His album will certainly attract pure acoustic players as well as new age music lovers and certainly creative guitarists. “Departure” will surely impress every music lover.

Henk te Veldhuis,
guitarnet/guitarreviews, NL

...a marvellous soundmix, beautiful relaxation and an astonishing manual skill even in moments of highest speed. It could be worth while giving this album some time to unfold in order to get lost in a magical world of sound made of mild Jazz, Ethnotouch and a lot of contemporary Folk

Michael Lohr,
Akustikgitarre 2/03, GER

On his debut CD, Free Mind, Axel Schultheiss hinted an appetite for exploring beyond pure fingerstyle guitar. The title of his second collection, as well as its opening moments, make it clear that he has followed this desire. Schultheiss manipulates the sound of his steel-string guitar with delays, loops, slide, e-bow, and pitch shifters, maintaining perfect control of the dense layers built from his minimalist structures. Complexity develops in the tumbling profusion of his rhythmic and melodic ideas, which range from pulsating rhythms to lovely lyricism. The mix of Schultheiss’ masterful chops and technological experimantation make this a fine set.

Gary Joyner,
Acoustic Guitar, 5/03, USA

This is not any run-of-the-mill fingerstyle. Axel Schultheiss’ compositions are recounted with layered, complementary and zizagging multitracked guitar lines, and can’t quite be called melodies so much as dramas. “Departure” rings out like peals of church bells, intense and omniscient. “Strung Up” is like the swarm-like buzz of attack punctuated by the motronomic drone of boxcars on tracks gleefully winding their way over hill and dale.

Alan Fark,
Minor 7th, 01/04, USA

Axel Schultheiß is a guitarist who is open towards innovations and he is one of the most qualified ones among those creating athmospherical moods without stylistic boarders. He prefers sound, harmonical interpretation and dynamics to melody and has created a trip for the acoustic guitar - with contemporary references both in harmonic and in rhythmic structures and at the same time incorporating sounds and effects without fear.

Roberto Menabo,
Bluestime, 4/04, I

With incredible skill there’s something unique ... The style has something of jazz mixed with a highly developed individual acoustic guitar technique...the blended inspirations and ideas are amazing. Axel shows a rarely seen and achieved result of developed skill and talent.
A recommended release!

Gerald van Waes,
Psyche van het Folk, BE

For soundexamples go to Acoustic Music/Portrait/Schultheiss.