Anthony Pirog: The Nepenthe Series Vol. 1

Any of the nine tracks on Anthony Pirog’s The Nepenthe Series Vol. 1 could provide the aural setting for a brief respite from the clamorous world, a two-to-six-minute window of relaxed meditation or focused concentration. Experiencing the entire recording from beginning to end offers a soothing 41-minute immersion in what composer Pauline Oliveros dubbed Deep Listening. Pirog, an improvising jazz-rock guitarist who plays with Fugazi’s former rhythm section in the instrumental trio the Messthetics, realized this experiment in atmospheric music by inviting such friends as guitarists Nels Cline (Wilco), Andy Summers (The Police), Brandon Ross, Wendy Eisenberg, and Ryan Ferreira to send him ambient tracks to which he’d add his own guitar parts. Bassist Luke Stewart supplied a track, John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers) created one with his Monomachine synth, Janel Leppin played pedal steel for hers, and “Bernal Heights” features Pirog solo on guitar synth. Titles include “Aurora,” “Inflorescence,” “Glowing Gesture,” and “The Eternal River.” But it’s not all sweetness and light; there are dense and heavy moments, and Eisenberg offered up some foreboding dark noise for Pirog to play with. Still, the overall vibe is celestial, akin to Brian Eno’s “Spirits Drifting” on 1975’s Another Green World.