The album features Buttery’s lightning-fast, yet highly melodic fingerpicking and two-handed tapping approaches, yielding some truly dazzling percussive and polyphonic moments. “The album delves into the subtleties of what I call ‘avant-garde folk,’” explains Buttery. “The ideas explored while writing were of dissonance, interchanging rhythms, and the vast, continuing search for new sounds on the 6-string. Music speaks a million languages, clearly articulating every human emotion, and the guitar is an ideal vehicle to express that versatility. Unlike instruments such as the banjo or the sitar, the guitar’s not genre-locked and can be used in any context imaginable. Texturally and harmonically, everything comes in a single package with the guitar.”

Buttery’s instrument of choice for recording and performing is a Takamine ND25C, a super jumbo steel-string with a solid cedar top.

“It’s the fattest-sounding acoustic I’ve ever heard, and it doesn’t require the aid of effects or other processors,” says Buttery. “I really love the overall sonic balance of the instrument and am often overjoyed when I open my guitar case, pull it out, and realize how good it sounds. I enjoy the fact that it’s well balanced, light to the touch, quick to respond, and has a nice, round low end.”

Buttery relied on the natural range and warmth of his Takamine to help carry the recording sessions for his new album—which were held in his living room.

“I wasn’t keen to go the full-on studio route, because I’ve never felt comfortable in one, and I’ve always felt my playing suffers as a result,” says Buttery. “Having lived in my house for 12 years, I felt it made sense to use it to record the music originally written in that environment. I used a local mobile studio with Pro Tools. All the tracks were done live excluding a couple of minor overdubs and the entirety of ‘Renwot,’ a tip of the hat to Ralph Towner, on which I played both guitar and piano. The album was predominantly recorded using Oktava MK-012 multi-capsule condenser mics. One was placed at a 45-degree angle to the 12th fret, about six inches away from the guitar. The other was placed further away, loosely directed at the sound hole. I also used an old tube mic of some sort throughout the album, placed diagonally down from the sound hole, between the saddle and main soundboard area near the side of the guitar. The tube mic sounded terrible on its own, but great when it was mixed with the Oktavas. The combination made the overtones and harmonics of the instrument come alive and sound so real. In addition, I sparingly used two Crown PZM mics—placed at the entrance hall leading to the living room—for ambience.

Buttery uses a variety of altered tunings on the album, but relies mainly on DADGAD, which he first heard in his youth when Jimmy Page employed it on Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” and “White Summer/ Black Mountain Side.”

“Open tunings can be a bit daunting at first, but new and interesting finger patterns always emerge and ultimately, new ideas too,” says Buttery. “I even find if I assign new fingerings on the left hand and different strings for each finger on the right hand, I come up with new ways to approach things. I agree with Joni Mitchell who once said, ‘If you want to explore something new, the first and most obvious step is to look at it from a different angle.’”