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Kevin Kastning — Codex I
(Greydisc No #, 2026, CD / DL)

Kevin Kastning — Codex II
(Greydisc No #, 2026, CD / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2026-02-27

Codex I Cover artCodex II Cover art

For those who have been following Kastning for any period of time, they will know that most of his recordings are collaborative efforts featuring other performers, sometimes on guitars but as often on woodwinds, bass, trumpet, piano, percussion and more. For the two releases at hand – which could have been a single release save for the capacity of the compact disc medium, he goes it alone for a series of tracks performed live in the studio without overdubs of any kind playing a number of his low-register double-necked custom made guitars: 24-string Double Sub-contraguitar, 26-string Double Sub-contraguitar, 30-string Double Contraguitar and the 30-string Contra-baritone guitar, along with a regular six-string guitar. For these recordings he is playing the two necks of whatever guitar he is playing simultaneously, one hand on each of the necks, offering simultaneous multiple lines and harmonic structures that would not be possible otherwise. The recordings are such that such that the left neck of each istrument is heard in the left channel, the right neck in the right channel, thus providing a unique stereo image best experienced on a set of quality headphones, which provides further clarity as to h ow these compositions are constructed. Without them, or a quality speaker system with adequate separation, the result may not always have the appropriate clarity to provide a good understanding of what’s being played, especially when both necks of the guitar are dwelling in the lowest registers. What’s not entirely clear is what separates the material on Codex I from that on Codex II – there are seven tracks on the former and six on the latter, the first five-or-so pieces on Codex I are all in the very lowest registers, then the guitar is changed out for another that features more high end; whether that’s the instrument itself or the way it’s being played, I cannot determine, and really it’s unimportant in the grander scheme, as the entirety of the set (one disc after the other) is fascinating enough to hold the listener spellbound from beginning to end.

Filed under: New releases, 2026 releases

Related artist(s): Kevin Kastning

More info
http://kevinkastning.bandcamp.com/album/codex-i
http://kevinkastning.bandcamp.com/album/codex-ii

 

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