Rhys Chatham’s Favorite Albums

Source: The Quietus.

This Baker’s Dozen comprises Chatham‘s early musical epiphanies, or works by composers whose ideas played a key part in cracking open his young mind. As is often the case in minimalism, the sound always returns to its source, and as Rhys asserts, you can certainly hear the influence of Steve Reich and Charlemagne Palestine in the patient intensity of his new work, Pythagorean Dream. With head-spinning use of phase-shifting and delay pedals, it sees Chatham making maximal impact with more minimal instrumentation after the gargantuan 400-guitar piece A Crimson Grail. With shades of trumpet, guitar and flute, all played by Chatham himself, it’s the impactful work of a true journeyman. With this list, Chatham gives us a view of the people that helped mould him.