Toby Hay
Marteg EP

Welsh fingerstyle guitarist Toby Hay crossed my internet browsing paths last year, but it didn't struck a chord with me back in those days. He's a classical guitar trained musician and so his technique is great, but the music was sounding very tame to me. This changed with his new EP "Marteg".

It opens with the slow swelling track "The Waterfall". A majestic sounding piece of beauty that starts with a shimmering guitar pattern as the mainspring and it wins physical force with trumpet and percussion that makes the floor shake. 

"Marteg Salmon" is another wondeful composition. More with an american open road feel that we know from William Tyler. It's probably the slide guitar that sighs along the earthy bass that makes me think about this geographical reference.

The next track is a pretty guitar miniature and the ep closes with an impressionistic sounding track that has a surprisingly uplifting turn.

This ep is highly recommend and is available as cd and digital (see on the left)! Check out his other recordings, too!

Only criticism here is the cover artwork. It's a photo of pretty branches. Really? Didn't I saw those branches already yesterday? I am sure there was a reason to choose this photo, but it feels kind of disconnected from the music. It's not telling a story or visually extend the music.