These two early cassette-only titles from the renowned guitar improviser Tashi Dorji were released a decade ago – these reissues mark their debut on vinyl. “‘Guitar Improvisation’ and ‘Tashi Dorji’ are the first physical releases of my guitar improvisations. They were put out by a small local, now defunct, label called Headway Recording in 2012 and 2013. The friends who ran the label had heard some of my guitar music and reached out to me about doing a cassette release. “‘Guitar Improvisations’ was really my first recording of improvisation – in a semi-studio setting at my friend’s basement space. It really was a formative time for me because it felt like everything opened, as far as the possibilities of what musicmaking meant. Like improvisation walked in and then there was a volcanic eruption… “The self-titled session was recorded at a nice studio at the local university here in Asheville. I had some friends that were studying music there and had access to studio time. This session focused more on extended/prepared guitar ideas. My interest in percussive elements of sounds, timbre, harmonics, and dynamics plays a lot in this recording.” – Tashi Dorji