(Art Rock, Progressive, New Age) Bill Nelson - Fantasmatron - 2011, MP3, 320 kbps

Bill Nelson is both an enigma and a highly public person whose motivations sometimes seem shrouded in complex mysteries, yet whose at-times prodigious output amounts to public development of song ideas and musical experiments. He has been both a guitar hero and the background figure in any number of art installations, exhibitions, and theatrical presentations. While difficult for record company executives to grasp and often obscure to the general public, Nelson has nonetheless built up a strong and loyal fan base around the world.
Nelson’s career began in earnest with the recording and release of a solo album, Northern Dream, which was financed by the owner of the Record Bar, a local Wakefield record store. The initial pressing was limited to 250 copies (it has since been reissued several times, much to Nelson’s frustration; he has never received royalties from the record), one of which found its way to BBC disc jockey John Peel, whose late-night Radio One shows were a constant influence on British rock music. Peel took an immediate liking to the record, playing cuts from it on a regular basis, with the result that executives from EMI’s Harvest label contacted Nelson with the intention of having him record for the label, possibly with a remake of Northern Dream.
Fantasmatron, the latest album features 14 carefully crafted songs from the mystrious imagination of Mr Nelson. Regular listeners to Bill’s home-made recordings will know the format. Like his cover art and the track titles, the music takes the listener to another time, another place, and as always there is Bill’s delicously lyrical guitar playing.