DavidSvensson ~ The Name in Shaman ~ No Shame here

Inspired by Amarok! Global Presence! Riffs of the 70s!

This recording is the result of my most ’guitar-intensive’ period ever. It came as a reaction to what came before it, a period where I focused very much on the classical guitar but a moment came when I was fed up with polishing small details in my repetoar. One day, I felt an incredible hunger for riffs, for steel string guitars, and for going back to (progressive) rock music! I always loved the rock of the 70s, considering it as ’Mount Everest of the music history’ (classical music excluded here). An era where everyone was incredibly ambitious, when everything had to be handplayed, and when the broader audience had some considerable attention span ;)

I started to explore some riffs on my CORT steel string guitar, which had been collecting dust in a corner for a long time. It soon gave me the opening riffs and some additional riffs (e.g., around 5 minutes into the track). I quickly worked up the bulk of the track and got maybe half of the track done in just a few weeks (not counting later polishing, when I re-recorded some bits to get the sound I wanted). I got a vision of the completed track, a long progressive one - yes, for sure inspired by Oldfield and YES (favorites from this era!), but it was easier said than done to complete the track. Considerable work remained, as I was about to learn….

It was incredibly hard to finalize the composition and I almost gave up on it. I arrived at a moment where I seemed to have promised too much and where the Ear demanded some serious further action; many permutations tested, but nothing seemed to work. In the end, due to all this, I lost some control of the files (e.g., a key solo guitar is badly panned but I seem to be unable to find the raw data needed to fix it).

Extremely much work went into the last months, on a mission to crack it! Late nights, tinnitus, frustration! :) Finally I think I found what I needed (but who am I to know).. I had to accept some slightly less than perfect audio at some places: does it matter? Not to me, but the listener is the jury. I decided to go for attitude and energy rather than anything else… I hope you will enjoy what I discovered!

I doubt that cold-blooded perfect ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ever will replicate what a desperate Dave J. Svensson sounds like, late at nights with all controls turned to 11 on a scale from 0 to 10 …. ;)

The SHAMBOLIC GUITARS were:
- two 6s steel: CORT (rythms!) and OVATION (main recurrent theme!)
- a 12s FENDER (colour!)
- three electric guitars: IBANEZ (now sold), PRS & SCHECTER (dirt!)
- two classical guitars: CORT, KREMONA (clarity!)
Plus, a ROLAND keyboard (for some pads), and various hardware effect boxes.

Artcover by DS, featuring the guitars listed above.

//Dave, 6th October 2023

SHAMBOLIC GUITARS

This track began taking shape back in February 2025, during a period of experimenting with different guitars and hardware pedals—especially lots of echo effects. From the outset, I decided to abandon any formal plan or structure. My approach was simple: plug in a guitar, play whatever came to mind, and keep whatever felt promising. I just wanted to create something organic, hand-played, with some kind of consistent flow... 

Over time, ideas started to accumulate, and it felt generally fun to just keep recording. 

I’ll admit, part of the inspiration came from a beautiful trip to a magical northern spot, home to a stunning waterfall (see my art cover). Whether that feeling made it into the music—well, I’m honestly not sure.

The final result is this 7-minute progressive guitar journey, featuring two electric guitars, two steel-strings, and one classical guitar. 

Feel free to take a listen and let me know what it brings to mind!

WATERFALL SESSIONS

THE WATERFALL :: DS 2025

DEDICATED TO A FRIEND

Hello, Welcome to TBD.
All these creations are made by hard work and years upon years upon years of practice and trying to explain this world and the human condition to myself in the process through poems & songs. Thanks for all of your wonderful support.
Peace and Love to Everyone,
Carl Culliton

DavidSvensson ~ The Name in Shaman ~ No Shame here

The Beautiful Dark