richard youngs

richard youngs - summer wanderer (gipsy sphinx 2004)

“Summer Wanderer” is a sideslip in the discography of the Scottish avant folk musician Richard Youngs because it’s the only acappella release in his eminent and extensive list of recordings.

“Summer Wanderer” was released for the first time in 2004 in an edition of twenty copies. For close friends only. A year later, Youngs re-released these recordings on his own No Fans imprint. So this vinyl release on the Ghent based Gipsy Sphinx label can actually be called a re-re-release. But that doesn’t matter because the more people who hear this music the better.

And this is why: “Summer Wanderer” of course gets to your attention because of its concept: a full album with the singer's voice as the only instrument. But besides that, this album also contains all the specific Richard Youngs characteristics: it sounds minimal, repetitive, meditative and improvised. I’m not sure if these songs are actually improvised but it sure sounds that way.

Time for a conclusion: “Summer Wanderer” doesn’t only stand out because of its concept but also because of its musical quality. For me personally, “Summer Wanderer” is as excellent as “The Naïve Shaman”. And that means something because “The Naïve Shaman” was, to me anyway, the best record of 2005. 9/10" foxy digitalis

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