The renowned fusion master gets futuristic with Black Light, his latest album with the virtuosic band, the 4th Dimension.
Even six decades into a legendary career, John McLaughlin is as fierce and passionate about playing guitar as he was when he picked it up in 1953. Young McLaughlin had already been playing piano for three years before his parents got him an acoustic. āI didnāt even know what an electric guitar was,ā he remembers. Luckily for music fans everywhere, McLaughlin not only discovered the electric guitar but also used it to influence generations of musicians and create a singularly identifiable style that blends high-energy rock with sophisticated harmonic, melodic, and rhythmic elements.
It wasnāt long before such jazz luminaries as Tony Williams and Miles Davis brought McLaughlin into their bands. Williamsā landmark 1969 album, Emergency! was an early demonstration of how McLaughlinās jazz chops and rock ethos could transform an organ trio into a three-headed muscle car of improvisation. During the ā70s, Davis (who was notorious for disdaining the guitar) formed an electric band, brought on McLaughlin for the iconic Bitches Brew and Jack Johnson albums, and helped lay the foundation for the fusion movement that gained popularity during the decade. Even while staying busy as a sideman, McLaughlin released solo albums and projects that included the rich acoustic sounds of Belo Horizonte and the game-changing Mahavishnu Orchestra.
Now 73, McLaughlin recently released Black Light, a work that combines the virtuosity that has symbolized his style with electronic elements and other-worldly soundscapes. In short: itās not your typical āfusionā album. The muscular opening track, āHere Comes the Jiis,ā features McLaughlinās smooth, amp-free tones and rapid-fire melodies skimming over a mix of drummer Ranjit Barotās propulsive rhythms and electronic sounds that wouldnāt be frowned upon at a Skrillex show.
Throughout Black Light, McLaughlin creates harmonically complex compositions by seamlessly weaving elements of live performance with pre-recorded sounds. āThe sounds have to mean something. You can get a sound, but you have to make it your own,ā says McLaughlin about the work-intensive process. We recently caught up with McLaughlin to discuss how he approaches composition, his deep love of rhythm, and his touching tribute to famed flamenco guitarist, Paco de Lucia.
This album is full of energy. Even on multiple listens it holds up with some of the best work youāve done.
Yeah, thereās a lot of energy. But I donāt really think of it as energy. I think of it more of how much passion is in the band. Weāre old school, especially me. Weāre not part of this āsmoothā jazz movement, if you know what I mean. Basically, we feel if thereās no passion in the music, thereās no gas in the tank. Look at the passion Miles played with. The passion equals energy. Itās beautiful to feel that in the music. Itās very important to me.
some sex in it.
Itās inspiring that youāre hitting at this level in your seventies.
Iām an old hippie [laughs]. Thank God, Iām still playing. Itās wonderful that Iām still able to continue, but the machine is getting older. Iām happy to have been a musician my whole life and to still be a musician. I donāt think thereās a better privilege, frankly.
Black Light can be viewed as the third album with your latest working band, the 4th Dimension. How did this specific group come together?
Actually, it came from an idea I had over 10 years ago. I was very lucky because I got this invitation from RĆ©union Island, which is near Madagascar. They said I could bring whatever band I want. This was the chance to put together this quartet that I had bubbling in my mind for a while. The only member remaining from that original lineup is Gary Husband, who plays everythingākeyboards, drums, percussion. What an unbelievable musician he is. I knew him from his work with Allan Holdsworth. I also called the Mondesir brothers, [drummer] Mark and [bassist] Mike. Mark played in the group for a while, but Mike was only on that one gig.
Did you start recording and touring with that band right after those gigs?
Right after that gig I came back to finish Thieves & Poets, which was a huge job for me since it involved symphony and guitar. I got the group back together to do some tracks for Industrial Zen. So weāve been a working band for about nine years, at least. There have been a few personnel changes, but the current band with Ćtienne MāBappĆ© on bass and Ranjit Barot on drums has been together for about three years.
Over the years youāve brought a lot of traditional Indian influences to your music. Ranjit seems like such a natural bridge between several different genres.
Yeah, he was on Floating Point, which I recorded in India. I really like that recording and it features some young Indian players that are just killing. Weād been hanging for a while and I finally got him in the band because heās very busy working with a famous Bollywood musician named A.R. Rahman. In a way, Ranjit was made for this band.
Watching a YouTube video of a recent concert you did, I was really impressed with Ranjitās vocal abilities.
Oh yeah. You can hear a few places on this album where Ranjit sings in konokol, which is a way to vocally express rhythm. I studied that system with the late, great Ravi Shankar in the mid ā70s. He took me under his wing just like that. I wasnāt even playing sitar. I was in New York at the time and anytime he came to New York heād call me and he would teach me. One day he said he was going to really show me some theory. And he taught me that system of vocal rhythm. If you can sing it, then you can play it. All rhythm, in the end, is just mathematics with a beat and some sex in it. [Laughs.] Youāve got to be rhythm crazy to like that stuff, and I am.
When youāre performing, how does rhythm affect your improvisations?
Rhythm is rhythm. Whether itās Brazil or Africa or India or New York. The big thing is if itās swinging, or is it funky, or does it move you. Thatās the whole thing. And the great ones always do. They always swing, but I donāt even know what jazz music is anymore. The whole point of playing live is that everyone is playing with the drummer. You have to be with the drummer. To play with a drummer you have to know what the drummer is doing and understand and feel the way he feels rhythms. Heās waiting to be provoked just like Iām waiting to be provoked. When I go onstage, I want the drummer to provoke me and stimulate me. But at the same time he needs stimulation. I have to understand the rhythm so I can kick his butt too. We all need this kind of stimulation to get out of the ordinary āwhat you know.ā In improvisation, which is the real key to playing collective music, thereās spontaneity, and without the knowledge of each other and the knowledge of the rhythm, itās very difficult to develop the kind of complicity to be able to improvise together. Even if thereās only one chord, it doesnāt matter. Youāve got to have that thing together. Thatās all that counts. Being together.
Did you record this album in your home studio?
Actually, we did it in a couple of different places. Part of it was done at home. I live in Monte Carlo and I have a studio in my home. Not a big oneāitās enough to record. Then we did some in London and Paris. Gary lives in London, so we went there to do some of his recording. Ćtienne lives in Paris, so we did some there.
During a recent event to celebrate PRS Guitarsā 30th anniversary, McLaughlin sat in with fellow PRS endorser Jimmy Herring and the Aquarium Rescue Unit. āI donāt know anyone who plays like Jimmy,ā raves McLaughlin.
Photo by Victoria Selman
John McLaughlin's Gear
Guitars
PRS McCarty Violin
PRS Private Stock Signature Ltd.
Abe Wechter nylon string
Effects
Seymour Duncan SFX-03 Twin Tube Classic
MXR Stereo Chorus
MXR Carbon Copy Delay
Hermida Audio Zendrive 2
Fishman GuitAero WGS6000-RX
Mesa/Boogie V-Twin
Strings and Accessories
DāAddario strings
Line 6 G30 Wireless
Korg Pitchblack tuner
Dunlop DC Brick
In some parts, this record has that visceral live-in-the-studio feel and in others, you can sense these expansive soundscapes. Were you all in the same room when you recorded?
No, not all the time. Part of the problem for Ćtienne was he had an operation on both his hands. It was really difficult. He needed about six weeks to recover and because we were running a bit late, we started to record without him. Basically, the bulk of the recording was done in London where we were all together, except for Ćtienne. We traveled to Paris to record his parts.
On Industrial Zen, I did a lot of pre-work with sound design and layers I wanted to use. This album, in a way, is an extension of that work because you can hear in the music that there are passages where we really arenāt playing. Thereās sound and layers with some playing going on behind. Thatās part of the dynamic where you move out of a group sound to another dimension. Itās a lot of work, actually, to prepare the sound design. You have to make it personal. But Iām very happy with how it came out with this combination of unusual dimensions and some really serious playing going on. Thereās a lot of stuff going on, but at the same time I donāt want to be just permanently intense and full volume. We have to breathe, and the dynamics are really an important part of the music. To have that intensity of the playing, which is really personal and totally spontaneous, then all of a sudden you move out and itās like this floating sound that takes you to another place. I really like that and the effect it has on me.
With so many moving parts within a particular composition, how do you present the tunes to the band when you go in the studio?
As far as the compositions, I canāt just sit down and write music. That might be why I donāt make records every year. I have to wait for the music to come to me. The music arrives and the form arrives, but what Iāll do is draw out a sketch. For Gary, I might say, āThis is the harmonic structure, but when itās time to play, go where you want and take it where you want.ā With the drums, Iāll use konokol and sing the rhythm. For example, in ā360 Flip,ā even though it sounds a little strange, I had Ranjit change the beat around a bit. He follows these directions, to a certain extent, and then integrates them into his own playing. But once the improvisation starts, thatās it. Everyoneās free. I want them to be who they are. Itās very important to me for them to have space to express themselves in the way they want to.
Did you use your custom PRS on this album?
Oh yeahāwhat a beauty. I have another one Paul gave me that I used for the guitar synth on the melody of āGaza City.ā Synth guitar makes me play in a different way. I donāt want to play it all the timeāI like the electric guitar or the acoustic guitar. But usually, Iāll bring it out for one track on a studio album. It makes me think differently, and I like that.
How does it make you play differently?
Basically, Iām a simple guy. I always use the same kind of sound that is a little flutey. Itās a very simple tone, not complex at all, but it reacts to the whammy bar very nicely. It reacts in a very subtle way and Iām able to express things with that sound. For me, itās a totally different instrument, I just happen to control it with a guitar. The minute I hear the sound I play differently. Itās not that I want to play differently, it makes me play differently. Itās really strange, but I like that. Itās like playing with a great drummer, keyboard player, or bass player. They all stimulate you in different ways. I generally donāt take it on the road, although I did with Shakti from time to time. It seems to work best in the stability of the studio. Iāve been on tour with it, and one day it works great and the next it just wobbles. Itās really temperamental, so Iām very nervous about taking it out on the road.
What synth are you using?
Iām just using Apple Logic. Itās a sound that I found in the ES2 [virtual analog synth] and Iāve been working on it for, I donāt know, 10 years? And Iām still tweaking.
YouTube It
This complete concert from 2012 shows how McLaughlin and his band of virtuosos tackle blazing jazz-rock on the opening track, āTrancefusion.ā Dig the dynamics during the start of McLaughlinās solo at 0:57.
Youāve been known to not use traditional amps for your tone. Was that the case on this album?
Iām a little old to schlep an amp around. On the album, I used the Seymour Duncan Twin Tube Classic. Itās pretty much that along with an MXR Stereo Chorus and an MXR Carbon Copy delay. I really like those pedals. As far as wireless units, the Line 6 is great. It even has a switch to give you a virtual cable ... far out.
Recently, you got to play with Jimmy Herring at a PRS event. Heās a huge fan of your work and has cited you as a major influence.
Heās a very special guitar player. Not only is he a great guitar player, but one of the sweetest human beings Iāve ever met. Donāt tell him I told ya [laughs]. I remember when Chick Corea called me once and said, āHey man, do you know a good guitar player?ā I had just heard Jimmy and told Chick about him. I hooked those two up and Chick flipped when he heard Jimmy play. Chick invited him into his band and Jimmy couldnāt do it. Heās a busy guy. I wish there was a way for them to work it out because when you play with musicians like that, you level up. But Jimmyās got his own priorities and obligations. I think it was for a Return to Forever variation and Chick needed some rocking guitar. And Jimmyās got it.
He recorded one of my tunes on an album [āHopeā on Subject to Change Without Notice]. It was a tune that I never improvised on, only played the melody. When I heard the solo he played on that tune I said, āHoly moly. I should have played a solo like that.ā Heās something else. I wish he was more known in Europe. I donāt know anybody who plays like Jimmy.
āEl Hombre Que SabĆaā is a wonderful tribute to the late Paco de Lucia. Was that originally composed with his memory in mind?
Paco and I were supposed to record last year but on February the 25th, it was all over. This was one of the pieces that he really liked, so I thought, āWell, Iām going to just make a homage to him.ā That was one of the tunes we were supposed to record. I sent it to him just before he left for Central America, which is where he died, in Mexico. A couple of days before he left he called me and said, āJuanito, this tune. I really love this tune.ā I said, āGreat. Weāll record it when you come back.ā And of course, he never came back. Itās a really personal homage. The title means āThe Man Who Knew.ā Paco knew, all right.
When did you first meet Paco?
I met him in Paris in 1978. A long time ago, man. I heard him on the radio and I was able to get a hold of him and said, āLetās get together and play. And not just make a record. We need to work.ā We jammed, just the two of us, and he asked what my plans were. I thought it would be great to have three guitars, and Iād spoken to Larry Coryellāwe go back to the ā60s. I told Larry, āIām sitting here with the greatest flamenco player ever, and Iād like you to come in.ā That was the first trio. We toured Europe in ā78 and ā79, and it was amazing. But Larry had to leave because of personal issues. It was really a shame because heās a lovely guitar player and a great musician. And Al [Di Meola] had already done some recording with Paco, so he suggested we call him. That was the first time we toured the U.S. and during that tour we recorded Friday Night in San Francisco.
You and Paco did some touring on your own, right?
Yeah, we did duo tours in Europe. There was a tour we did in the mid ā80s, and one of the concerts was in Switzerland at the Montreux Jazz Festival. That recording will be coming out at the end of the year. It was a fantastic nightāyou can hear it. I know the guitar trio was special, but Paco and I ā¦ on that album you can hear what a long friendship can bring you.
Day 9 of Stompboxtober is live! Win today's featured pedal from EBS Sweden. Enter now and return tomorrow for more!
EBS BassIQ Blue Label Triple Envelope Filter Pedal
The EBS BassIQ produces sounds ranging from classic auto-wah effects to spaced-out "Funkadelic" and synth-bass sounds. It is for everyone looking for a fun, fat-sounding, and responsive envelope filter that reacts to how you play in a musical way.
A more affordable path to satisfying your 1176 lust.
An affordable alternative to Cali76 and 1176 comps that sounds brilliant. Effective, satisfying controls.
Big!
$269
Warm Audio Pedal76
warmaudio.com
Though compressors are often used to add excitement to flat tones, pedal compressors for guitar are often ā¦ boring. Not so theWarm Audio Pedal76. The FET-driven, CineMag transformer-equipped Pedal76 is fun to look at, fun to operate, and fun to experiment with. Well, maybe itās not fun fitting it on a pedalboardāat a little less than 6.5ā wide and about 3.25ā tall, itās big. But its potential to enliven your guitar sounds is also pretty huge.
Warm Audio already builds a very authentic and inexpensive clone of the Urei 1176, theWA76. But the font used for the modelās name, its control layout, and its dimensions all suggest a clone of Origin Effectsā much-admired first-generation Cali76, which makes this a sort of clone of an homage. Much of the 1176ās essence is retained in that evolution, however. The Pedal76 also approximates the 1176ās operational feel. The generous control spacing and the satisfying resistance in the knobs means fast, precise adjustments, which, in turn, invite fine-tuning and experimentation.
Well-worn 1176 formulas deliver very satisfying results from the Pedal76. The 10ā2ā4 recipe (the numbers correspond to compression ratio and āclockā positions on the ratio, attack, and release controls, respectively) illuminates lifeless tonesāadding body without flab, and an effervescent, sparkly color that preserves dynamics and overtones. Less subtle compression tricks sound fantastic, too. Drive from aggressive input levels is growling and thick but retains brightness and nuance. Heavy-duty compression ratios combined with fast attack and slow release times lend otherworldly sustain to jangly parts. Impractically large? Maybe. But Iād happily consider bumping the rest of my gain devices for the Pedal76.
Check out our demo of the Reverend Vernon Reid Totem Series Shaman Model! John Bohlinger walks you through the guitar's standout features, tones, and signature style.
Reverend Vernon Reid Totem Series Electric Guitar - Shaman
Vernon Reid Totem Series, ShamanWith three voices, tap tempo, and six presets, EQDās newest echo is an affordable, approachable master of utility.
A highly desirable combination of features and quality at a very fair price. Nice distinctions among delay voices. Controls are clear, easy to use, and can be effectively manipulated on the fly.
Analog voices may lack complexity to some ears.
$149
EarthQuaker Silos
earthquakerdevices.com
There is something satisfying, even comforting, about encountering a product of any kind that is greater than the sum of its partsāthings that embody a convergence of good design decisions, solid engineering, and empathy for users that considers their budgets and real-world needs. You feel some of that spirit inEarthQuakerās new Silos digital delay. Itās easy to use, its tone variations are practical and can provoke very different creative reactions, and at $149 itās very inexpensive, particularly when you consider its utility.
Silos features six presets, tap tempo, one full second of delay time, and three voicesātwo of which are styled after bucket-brigade and tape-delay sounds. In the $150 price category, itās not unusual for a digital delay to leave some number of those functions out. And spending the same money on a true-analog alternative usually means warm, enveloping sounds but limited functionality and delay time. Silos, improbably perhaps, offers a very elegant solution to this canāt-have-it-all dilemma in a U.S.-made effect.
A More Complete Cobbling Together
Silosā utility is bolstered by a very unintimidating control set, which is streamlined and approachable. Three of those controls are dedicated to the same mix, time, and repeats controls you see on any delay. But saving a preset to one of the six spots on the rotary preset dial is as easy as holding the green/red illuminated button just below the mix and preset knobs. And you certainly wonāt get lost in the weeds if you move to the 3-position toggle, which switches between a clear ādigitalā voice, darker āanalogā voice, and a ātapeā voice which is darker still.
āThe three voices offer discernibly different response to gain devices.ā
One might suspect that a tone control for the repeats offers similar functionality as the voice toggle switch. But while itās true that the most obvious audible differences between digital, BBD, and tape delays are apparent in the relative fidelity and darkness of their echoes, the Silosā three voices behave differently in ways that are more complex than lighter or duskier tonality. For instance, the digital voice will never exhibit runaway oscillation, even at maximum mix and repeat settings. Instead, repeats fade out after about six seconds (at the fastest time settings) or create sleepy layers of slow-decaying repeats that enhance detail in complex, sprawling, loop-like melodic phrases. The analog voice and tape voice, on the other hand, will happily feed back to psychotic extremes. Both also offer satisfying sensitivity to real-time, on-the-fly adjustments. For example, I was tickled with how I could generate Apocalypse Now helicopter-chop effects and fade them in and out of prominence as if they were approaching or receding in proximityāan effect made easier still if you assign an expression pedal to the mix control. This kind of interactivity is what makes analog machines like the Echoplex, Space Echo, and Memory Man transcend mere delay status, and the sensitivity and just-right resistance make the process of manipulating repeats endlessly engaging.
Doesn't Flinch at Filth
EarthQuaker makes a point of highlighting the Silosā affinity for dirty and distorted sounds. I did not notice that it behaved light-years better than other delays in this regard. But the three voices most definitely offer discernibly different responses to gain devices. The super-clear first repeat in the digital mode lends clarity and melodic focus, even to hectic, unpredictable, fractured fuzzes. The analog voice, which EQD says is inspired by the tone makeup of a 1980s-vintage, Japan-made KMD bucket brigade echo, handles fuzz forgivingly inasmuch as its repeats fade warmly and evenly, but the strong midrange also keeps many overtones present as the echoes fade. The tape voice, which uses aMaestro Echoplex as its sonic inspiration, is distinctly dirtier and creates more nebulous undercurrents in the repeats. If you want to retain clarity in more melodic settings, it will create a warm glow around repeats at conservative levels. Push it, and it will summon thick, sometimes droning haze that makes a great backdrop for slower, simpler, and hooky psychedelic riffs.
In clean applications, this decay and tone profile lend the tape setting a spooky, foggy aura that suggests the cold vastness of outer space. The analog voice often displays an authentic BBD clickiness in clean repeats thatās sweet for underscoring rhythmic patterns, while the digital voiceās pronounced regularity adds a clockwork quality that supports more up-tempo, driving, electronic rhythms.
The Verdict
Silosā combination of features seems like a very obvious and appealing one. But bringing it all together at just less than 150 bucks represents a smart, adept threading of the cost/feature needle.