Lawson Rollins - ESPIRITO

In Lawson Rollins’ latest album, Espirito, the incredibly talented guitarist blends elements of Latin and Jazz music with World percussion while continuing to showcase his amazing technical flair. The album is deeply layered; but is it too many flavors for one spoon?

That is a question we ask ourselves more and more as artists’ access to professional self –recording equipment flourishes. How much is too much? Fortunately, Lawson enlists an A-team of cohorts to coproduce: Persian-American musician Shahin Shahida of the Billboard Chart-topping group Shahin & Sepehr and multi-platinum producer Dominic Camardella (Ottmar Liebert, Flora Purim, 3rd Force). So in short, no. Espirito is a wonderful follow-up to his 2008 debut, Infinita. Rollins emerges even more fantastically as a clever songwriter, attentive to the small details and nuances throughout the album. It is a mashup of instrumentations and background, drawing on influences from such culturally rich locales as Spain, Brazil, Cuba, Iran, Afghanistan, and the U.S.

For those who only know Lawson by his uncanny, virtuosic ‘shredding’ on YouTube, Espirito unravels a world of jaw-dropping guitar chops, delicately balanced with the musical fundamentals of a celebrity cast. And if you’ve missed out on this Internet Sensation…

VOILA!