Dylan Kay - EP Review: (I Could) Watch You Forever
Dylan Kay is a seasoned player, having begun 35 years ago, and having been teaching for the last 25 of them, including setting up what is now Auckland's biggest guitar school, in 2012. Originally from the U.K., he has studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston and the Guitar Institute in London, and has played in a huge variety of venues, before coming to reside in New Zealand with his young family.
He has just released his second EP (and his first on the NoOx label), (I Could) Watch You Forever. Dylan has stated that "This collection of music is a snapshot in time. It’s about life and love. A mix of reflection and the visceral", and he indeed touches on some deeply personal subjects, and intimate emotions.
The first track is a cover of The Beatles' classic Blackbird, recorded as a tribute to his father, who always enjoyed watching Dylan perform it. His slide guitar work is instantly captivating. I can hear Blackbird being sung, sublime. Such a beautiful treatment of this well-loved song, this is played with skill and emotion. I'm loving the production too, the sound is full and clear, every tiny nuance of his playing captured perfectly.
His mother's favourite place was The Sea, where she felt most at home. A sparse, soft, delicate introduction, bringing to mind images of a calm sea, sun sparkling on small waves, a sense of peace. The sea is famously capricious, however, and the music expresses a sudden change of mood, tense and urgent, pulling one way and then another, but as quickly as it flares up, it resolves to calm again, drifting away on a deep, resonant chime, the spirit of the sea having been poetically captured and displayed through the medium of guitar.
Dylan's song notes describe the title track thusly, "Watch You Forever is a heartfelt tribute, the title coming from a note jotted down at a very difficult time". Given his ability to express his emotions so articulately though his playing, this certainly has the feel of a very personal song indeed. It sounds sweetly reminiscent of a treasured moment, with the warmth and comfort felt in a contented heart. On For Now, a reserved, almost hesitant beginning becomes something of an entirely new beast. There's some distinct growl in the guitar tone at points, and moments of much more aggressive playing. This is tempered by swift dips back down into a more subdued clean tone, before ending on a defiantly wrought vibrato, almost as if the guitar is saying "I'm definitely coming for you, but it will wait... for now".
Next up is Big B. By this point it's already been amply demonstrated that he's a total class player, but I wasn't anywhere near prepared for this, it's absolutely next level stuff. "Big B" refers to Beethoven, the subject of his last full conversation with his mother. This song is a musical representation of that conversation, and it is utterly masterful. This actually sounds like a conversation, with soft tones, excited tones, laughter, reflection, and thought. Dylan's ability to make this chat come to life is just extraordinary. The love with which this song was brought into being simply shines through.
Final track You Don't Know What Love Is is one of Dylan's most beloved Jazz Ballads, that he has reimagined in a solo slide version. Like the rest of the EP before it, it showcases Dylan's masterful (and highly tasty) ability to make his guitar sing.
This is a magnificent EP, for lovers of particularly fine music, and exceptional guitar playing.
About Dylan Kay
“Dylan Kay is a badass slide player and anyone who’s interested in slide guitar would greatly benefit by taking lessons from him.” — Scott Henderson, legendary US jazz/blues/fusion guitarist
He studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston (including studying with slide guitar great David Tronzo) and the Guitar Institute in London (where he later taught for many years).
Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Dylan Kay
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