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He may not have known it before, but Toronto-born, New York-based guitarist Matthew Stevens, prized for his forceful, distinctive electric sound was an ideal candidate to make an album fully devoted to solo acoustic guitar the intimate, unadorned, straightforwardly titled 'Pittsburgh'. September 2020, Stevens was hunkering down in his wife's family's hometown of Pittsburgh, while navigating his way through the crisis. He had with him a vintage Martin 00-17, a small-body mahogany guitar. Practicing daily on the Martin, he began generating a series of short song InchstartsInch - ideas and sketches he thought might lead somewhere. Then one rainy Pittsburgh day, Stevens' bike slid out from under him and he broke his right elbow. Rather than getting derailed musically, he became immersed in a creative process that led straight to 'Pittsburgh' a document of those short song InchstartsInch from the notebook, now hatched as completed compositions. InchPlaying this music became a big part of my rehab,Inch Stevens recalls. As the album took shape, it became clear to Stevens that he was headed in the direction of a wholly unaccompanied recital, with no overdubs or sound layering of any kind. Just him and this special Martin, two Neumann U89 mics and enough peace of mind across two separate sessions to make 'Pittsburgh' the triumph that it is.1. Ambler2. Purpose Of A Machine3. Buckets4. Can Am5. Foreign Ghosts6. Northern Touch7. Cocoon8. Ending Is Beginning9. Blue Blues10. Broke11. Miserere
