Robert Dallas Gray - Guitar and the Art of Solo Performance

Projects Lorenzo's Music
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In this episode of Lorenzo's Music Podcast, I meet Robert Dallas Gray, a musician based in Glasgow. Robert talks about playing in bands, including the well-known Life Without Buildings, to rediscovering his passion for solo work after a decade-long hiatus. We discuss his creative process, how he creates solo pieces, and the importance of improvisation.

Robert discusses his unique approach to recording, particularly during the pandemic, when he and his collaborator Martin experimented with voice memos. We also talk about his various projects, including the band Whin.

For more about Robert Dallas Gray and his music, visit https://robertdallasgray.bandcamp.com

Lorenzo's Music Website - https://www.lorenzosmusic.com

This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lorenzosmusic/episodes/Robert-Dallas-Gray---Guitar-and-the-Art-of-Solo-Performance-e3qr566
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There’s a detail in the Bandcamp notes that sits interestingly next to the voice-memo part of the description. The Rain Room is credited entirely to him — every part played and recorded at home in 2022–23 — and in the notes for The Vallum he says the extra organ and electric piano on that earlier record were virtual instruments, because he had no access to the real ones. For The Vallum he changed that on purpose: a Yamaha YC20 and a Hohner Pianet, everything played in real time, in a real room.

That reads like two different capture philosophies running in parallel — phone memos passed back and forth with Martin, versus one person at home stacking parts — so I’d like to know which of them actually produced the solo pieces. Did any of the voice-memo material end up on a released record, or did it stay an experiment that shaped the approach rather than the tracklist?