The titan of guitar known worldwide as Paul Brett has released a new full-length album, “12 String Instrumental Power.” Like the rest of his recent material, the track has been released on the Viral Discs and Downloads indie music label. It comes on the heels of his popular “12 String Blues Power” LP which has been turning heads in fan and critical circles over the last month. Showcasing the consummate skills of this master guitarist – one of the best players the world has known – “12 String Instrumental Power” is at once a must-have album for fans of guitar, of classical music, and of perfect music in general.

Paul Brett's new record is a robust collection, 30 songs for a total listening time of nearly 80 minutes, making for a splendid overlook of the virtuoso's repertoire. An arresting album regardless, it also happens to represent a monumental occurrence in music history. Paul Brett's “12 String Instrumental Power” includes two complete, original suites: “Earth Birth,” the world's first suite written for 12-string guitar, and “Gryphon Suite for High 12 String,” the first written for the high 12-string guitar.

These suites represent just 16 of Brett's tracks on the LP. The artist's label, Viral Discs and Downloads, describes the remaining songs as “a selection of other original instrumentals that take the listener on a journey into the immense possibilities that 12-string guitar can produce when taken beyond the standard realms into the creative universe.”

This creative universe includes a dazzling array of textures, tones and styles, all of which orbit the 12-string guitar thrumming at their center but stand out with their own remarkable individuality. There are songs composed in the medieval style, songs which would fit in perfectly on a classic-rock record, songs writ in the spirit of the Irish tradition, classically minded songs, folk compositions, a shadowy Spanish composition, a startling 37-second jam session, and even an impression of “Carmina Burana” by Carl Orff which must be heard to be understood.

Regarding the two suites Brett has composed for the 12 string on this new LP, “Earth Birth” is technically a classical-guitar suite, but its strong overtones of folk music easily win out over the 'classical' denomination. This unique flavor blends English and Irish guitar traditions with the folk music of the 1960s and early '70s for a powerful little collection which will nestle comfortably between classic rock and folk albums and classical guitar compilations alike.

Contrasting pleasantly with Paul Brett's “Earth Birth” is the somewhat more complex “Gryphon Suite for High 12 String,” which stands (dances) on its medieval British and Irish foundations and sculpts new sonic forms from them in ways which are utterly unpredictable, yet inexplicably familiar at the same time. The music fan gets the distinct impression that Brett isn't so much inventing music as he is revealing songs which have existed for centuries, in the aether perhaps, to the world for the first time.

Still, at the end of the day “12 String Instrumental Power” is a Paul Brett record, and as such, most of these tracks defy categorization altogether.

“12 String Instrumental Power” by Paul Brett is available online everywhere now. Get in early, guitar aficionados and true audiophiles. This is music in its absolute purest form.

[The following is a recounting of Paul Brett's much-lauded career, first published to announce the release of his “12 String Blues Power” album in June, 2015 (also available online worldwide).]

Paul Brett's music has dipped into many different genres over the years, particularly those most associated with the classic rock groups of the late 1960s and '70s. He has notably played the blues, folk, rock, psychedelic, and acoustic music, and is also an avid fan of classical. Having been globally recognized as one of the top 12-string guitarists for over four decades, Brett's musical resume borders on the unbelievable.

As a session player in high demand, Paul Brett has performed, written and/or recorded with such legends as the Strawbs, the Overlanders, the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera, the Velvet Opera, Tintern Abbey, Fire, Roy Harper, Al Stewart, Lonnie Donegan, Tom Newman (“Tubular Bells”), Mott the Hoople, Motorhead, Mungo Jerry, Manfred Mann, the Savoy Brown Blues Band, John Mayall, Rod Stewart & the Faces, Quintessence, Keith Ralph (Yardbirds), Jimmy James & the Vagabonds, Steve Holley (Wings), Andrew Lloyd Webber, Julian Lloyd Webber, Jimi Hendrix, John Renbourn, the Who, Van der Graaf Generator, Motorhead, Paul Brett Sage – and quite literally scores of other world-famous musicians not here listed – as well as simply in his own right as Paul Brett.

He has his own range of signature guitars distributed worldwide by Vintage Guitars and has written as a music journalist for Melody Maker, NME, Sound International and International Musician. He is the resident expert on vintage acoustic guitars for the UK's Acoustic Magazine, and currently operates as festival director for the Llyn Acoustic Guitar Festival in North Wales.

Paul Brett's most recent endeavors find him piloting a record label with Tom Newman, co-founder of Virgin Records and producer of Mike Oldfield's seminal platinum album, “Tubular Bells.” Together they are undertaking several projects in the educational arena, including the recording of classic albums played by schoolchildren. Their popular “Tubular Bells” rendition as performed by the Children of Ireland appeared on digital shelves worldwide in 2013 and has been turning heads ever since.

“12 String Blues Power” by Paul Brett is available online worldwide beginning 20 June 2015.

-S. McCauley

Lead Press Release Writer

www.MondoTunes.com

“12 String Instrumental Power” by Paul Brett –

http://www.amazon.com/String-Instrumental-Power-Paul-Brett/dp/B00Z071VO2/

Official Websites –

www.paulbrettguitarist.co.uk

www.viraldiscsanddownloads.com