Dalton Alexander is a composer, multi-instrumentalist and field recordist based in Whitehorse, Yukon. His music spans ambient composition, electroacoustic experimentation, intimate folk songwriting and fingerstyle guitar instrumentals. 

His early releases combine synthesizers and acoustic instruments with recordings of familiar surroundings, while his instrumental guitar pieces draw on folk traditions by incorporating modal tunings, open-string drones, counterpoint and Celtic-style melodies. Childhood haunts, changing seasons and personal loss recur throughout his work, giving his discography a strong connection to memory and place.

Releases including Please Take Nothing But Memory, Almost Home If I'm Still Alive and At Some Point it Stopped have established him as a distinctive voice in contemporary instrumental music. His next release is planned for early 2027.

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Joseph Allred is a guitarist, multi-instrumentalist and composer from Tennessee whose music draws on Appalachian folk traditions, American Primitive guitar and a rich variety of global influences. One of the most prolific artists in contemporary instrumental music, he has built an extensive catalogue that ranges from intimate solo guitar recordings to ambitious multi-instrumental works.

His acclaimed releases include Branches & Leaves, The Rambles and Rags of Shiloh, Old Time Fantasias and A Meditation on Hiking, albums that showcase both his formidable technical skill and his gift for melody, atmosphere and storytelling.

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Charles Aurambault is a French guitarist and composer whose instrumental music explores the Borderlands between acoustic, folk, psychedelia and ambient soundscapes. Armed with a Wesenborne Indian slide guitar and oak and tune Martin parlors, he creates complative pieces shaped by texture, resonance and space.

His compositions blend cinematic atmospheres. British 60s folk sounds and echoes of traditional tunes from the Bourbonnais in central France. In their essence is compositions aimed to deliver intimate sonic landscapes, inviting listeners to draw freely their own images, sensations and inner worlds.

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Eric Arn is an composer and sound artist based in Vienna, Austria. Active since the early 1990s, he has worked across avant-rock, free improvisation, drone and experimental music through both solo and collaborative projects. In addition to his work with groups including Primordial Undermind and the Vienna Improvisers Orchestra, Arn maintains an extensive solo practice centred on acoustic and electric guitar.

Releases such as Points of Fading, The Storming of the Vast Deathless Fortress Beyond the Void and Singing Guitar draw together folk traditions, improvisation and experimental approaches to sound, reflecting his long-standing interest in texture, repetition and sonic exploration.

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Daniel Bachman is a guitarist, composer and sound artist whose early work grew from the American Primitive guitar tradition. More recent releases including When the Roses Come Again, Moving Through Light and Revolutions combine acoustic instruments with drones, field recordings, digital processing and layered sound collage. His evolving practice connects experimental music with landscape, environmental change and the folk histories of Virginia.

Described by many as one of the most adventurous figures in contemporary acoustic music, Bachman's work has been widely praised by publications including Pitchfork, The Wire and Uncut for continually pushing the boundaries of modern folk and instrumental composition.

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Golden Brown is the instrumental music project of Stefan Beck, a musician also known for his work with the acclaimed Colorado group Prairiewolf. Performed on acoustic and electric guitars, other stringed instruments and keyboards, Golden Brown draws inspiration from psychedelic folk, ambient music, cosmic country and new age traditions.

His recordings create immersive instrumental landscapes that balance melody, atmosphere and improvisation. Writing for Raven Sings The Blues, Andy French noted Beck's ability to weave together "Cosmic Americana, Folk, and ambient" influences, a description that captures the expansive and reflective nature of his music.

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D.C. Cross is the solo instrumental project of Australian musician Darren Cross. His acclaimed instrumental catalogue includes Ecstatic Racquet, Terabithian and the recent Glookies Guit, each showcasing his distinctive approach to melody, texture and improvisation.

Alongside his solo work, Cross remains an active collaborator within Australia's experimental and independent music communities. His musical partnership with fellow guitarist Andrew Tuttle continues on the forthcoming collaborative album AT/DC, due for release in October 2026.

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Buck Curran is a singer-songwriter-guitarist-multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer and painter based in Northern Italy.

For over three decades Curran has toured internationally and produced 21 albums including his latest albums for solo guitar: Far Driven Sun and Illuminations. As one half of the renown Psych folk duo Arborea, Curran has released five albums of other-worldly folk, and has produced two tribute albums to guitar maestro Robbie Basho, and one archival release Robbie Basho: Live in Forlì, Italy 1982.

Curran's songwriting is poetic and mystical and his rough-hewn voice and folk melodies curl like smoke. His acoustic guitar playing is characterized by the extensive use of alternate tunings, creating melodic and ethereal soundscapes.

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Raoul Eden is a French guitarist who has developed a distinctive solo practice centred on 6 and 12-string acoustic guitar. Drawing on American Primitive guitar, Indian raga, Gnawa music, blues and European folk traditions, his music combines ecstatic fingerstyle playing, microtonal experimentation and meditative improvisation.

Recent releases including Anima and Incarnation have established him as one of the most compelling new voices in contemporary instrumental guitar, with critics praising his ability to balance technical virtuosity with deeply atmospheric and spiritual composition.

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Matthew Geary is a Philadelphia-based guitarist and composer whose music blends American Primitive guitar, ambient music, folk and drone. Releases including Ghost in the Western Trap, The Silent Watcher, the Mountain is Woe and the recent Owl's Lament showcase a style that balances intricate fingerstyle guitar with rich textures and immersive soundscapes.

Often drawing on themes of resilience, memory and reflection, his music has established him as a distinctive voice within a new generation of instrumental guitarists.

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Myriam Gendron is a Canadian singer, guitarist and songwriter based in Montreal whose work draws on folk traditions, poetry and acoustic guitar music. Singing in both English and French, her recordings often combine traditional songs with original compositions and literary influences.

Her albums include Not So Deep as a Well, Ma Délire: Songs of Love, Lost & Found and the acclaimed Mayday (2024). Reviewing Mayday, Pitchfork wrote that its songs felt "essential, plucked out of the ether as if they've always existed", praising Gendron's ability to reimagine timeless folk traditions in a contemporary context.

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Danny Paul Grody is an American guitarist and composer based in San Francisco. He is a founding member of the bands Tarentel and The Drift, alongside his long-running solo work. His catalogue includes Fountain, Between Two Worlds, Arc of Day and Arc of Night. A self-taught guitarist, Grody draws inspiration from West African kora music, Takoma-style fingerpicking and minimal, repetitive forms.

His compositions develop patiently through recurring melodies and layered textures, creating instrumental music with a quiet, spacious and hypnotic character.

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M.Haiux is the musical alter ego of Liverpool-based guitarist Matthew McPartlan. Using minimal fingerpicked guitar and lo-fi recording techniques, his music brings together folk traditions, improvisation and atmospheric composition to create intimate instrumental pieces.

His releases include Summer Nights and Still Water, The Cold Nights of Late December and A Quiet Collapse. Often drawing on themes of memory, landscape and solitude, his recordings sit somewhere between American Primitive guitar, ambient music and contemporary folk.

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Barry Archie Johnson is a guitarist, flautist and songwriter based in Los Angeles. His debut instrumental album, Fortune's Mirror, introduced a distinctive style that combines folk, classical and contemporary instrumental influences.

His compositions are known for their expressive melodies, intricate guitar work and emotional depth. Reviewing the album, Aquarium Drunkard described it as "possibly the most 'California' sounding solo guitar record to come out since Will Ackerman's first few albums for Windham Hill", highlighting Johnson as a distinctive new voice in contemporary instrumental music.

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Cameron Knowler is a guitarist, composer and writer based in Nashville, Tennessee, whose work draws on American folk traditions, primitive guitar music and contemporary instrumental songwriting. His acclaimed releases CRK and Places of Consequence showcase a distinctive approach to the acoustic guitar, balancing technical precision with warmth and restraint.

Alongside his recordings, Knowler has written extensively about rural music, landscape and the cultural histories that shape American guitar traditions. Aquarium Drunkard described his work as "deeply personal and quietly transformative", highlighting Knowler as a compelling voice in contemporary instrumental guitar.

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Julien Ledru is a Paris-based fingerstyle guitarist and composer working within the contemporary instrumental folk tradition. His albums Along The Road I Had Travelled (2019), White Oak Blues (2020) and Mellotone Valley (2023) feature solo acoustic guitar compositions informed by American Primitive guitar styles and contemporary instrumental music.

Working primarily with fingerpicked acoustic guitar, Ledru creates instrumental pieces that combine carefully structured melodies with detailed arrangements, reflecting his long-standing focus on the acoustic guitar as a solo compositional instrument.

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Luce Mawdsley (they/them) is a Liverpool-based composer, pedal steel guitarist and multi-instrumentalist creating expansive instrumental music shaped by landscape, atmosphere and cinematic storytelling. Releases including Northwest & Nebulous and Dream, Baby Butch blend pedal steel, synthesisers and ambient textures to create what has been described as "queer cowboy landscapes via the Northern English coastline".

Uncut praised the music as "inventive and affecting baroque-jazz-folk from the Merseyside Morricone", reflecting a distinctive approach that draws equally from folk traditions, film soundtracks and experimental composition.

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Alexander Moeckl was born in 1966 somewhere on this Earth, Alexander Moeckl received his first guitar at the age of ten and has never stopped playing. Over the decades, he founded many bands across a wide range of styles: from guitar pop to garage punk, from ambient to electro, and from avant-garde to blues.

His first release as a solo guitarist did not arrive until 2018, with the single Tagesschimmer/Auslaut on the Randstock label. Since then, he has released only solo guitar albums: ich me io, meatus, desert, and, most recently, inspiravit lux. He regularly tours Europe with his solo programme.

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Rob Mohan is a Cincinnati-based fingerstyle guitarist whose music draws on the American Primitive guitar tradition and contemporary acoustic instrumental music. His debut instrumental album, A Sign of Things to Come (2025), features performances on six and twelve-string acoustic guitars and reflects influences from artists including John Fahey and Glenn Jones.

After almost a decade releasing singer-songwriter records under the name Night Owl, Mohan turned his focus to solo guitar composition, exploring alternate tunings, fingerpicked melodies and instrumental storytelling.

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Conor Moore is a Miami-based guitarist and composer whose music blends American Primitive guitar, jazz, calypso and folk traditions. His acclaimed debut album Chamber Music (2026) was praised for its warmth, patience and understated beauty, introducing a distinctive voice that balances intricate guitar work with spacious, cinematic arrangements.

Drawing inspiration from artists as diverse as Ali Farka Touré and John Fahey, he followed Chamber Music with the EP December, One Million, continuing to expand his unique blend of folk, classical and exploratory acoustic music.

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Henry Parker's contemporary take on folk unfolds much like the landscape that inspires it, mirroring the rolling hills, valleys and changing seasons of West Yorkshire's Aire Valley through thoughtful songwriting and deeply accomplished guitar playing. Drawing on traditional folk, progressive rock and modal jazz.

His recent release, The Dark Peak, was inspired by walks through the Pennines and the West Yorkshire countryside, continuing his fascination with landscape and place. Alongside his solo work, Parker and David Ian Roberts created the instrumental album Chasing Light regarded by many contemporary guitar fans as a modern classic of instrumental folk guitar.

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Shane Parish is one of the most adventurous guitarists working today, moving between American Primitive guitar, free improvisation, experimental music and contemporary composition.

His acclaimed recordings include Liverpool, a striking reimagining of traditional sea shanties and maritime folk songs, and Repertoire, a collection of solo guitar interpretations spanning Ornette Coleman, Alice Coltrane, Kraftwerk and Aphex Twin. More recently, his critically acclaimed album Autechre Guitar further demonstrated his ability to translate challenging electronic and experimental music into a deeply personal guitar language.

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Linden Pomeroy is a British guitarist, artist and composer whose distinctive style blends American Primitive guitar, devotional music, blues and folk traditions. Deeply inspired by the landscapes, myths and folklore of the South Downs, his music combines intricate fingerpicking, weissenborn slide guitar and twelve-string explorations with a strong sense of place and atmosphere.

His recent album The Cat Sang Out, released by Ramble Records, is a collection of acoustic guitar soli inspired by the South Downs and Sussex folklore. Praised for its melodic beauty and imaginative arrangements, the record further develops the unique musical world established on its predecessor, Other Downlands.

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Chris Rainier is a London-based musician whose work combines folk traditions, improvisation and microtonal tuning systems. Working with modified guitars and Weissenborn lap steel, he explores alternative approaches to pitch and temperament through acoustic instruments.

His recent releases include Sorrowful Songs of the Silverswords and Chris Rainier Sings the Music of Harry Partch, a collection of interpretations of compositions by the pioneering American composer and microtonal theorist Harry Partch. Alongside his solo work, Rainier continues to develop projects centred on tuning, acoustics and experimental approaches to stringed instruments.

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Mariano Rodriguez is an Argentinian guitarist and composer based in Patagonia. His work combines acoustic guitar, lap steel, Weissenborn guitar, improvisation and instrumental traditions drawn from folk, ambient and experimental music.

His catalogue includes Praise The Road, Cypress Shadow, Éxodo and El Meteoro Que Azotó La Ciudad. Working across both solo and multi-layered recordings, Rodriguez develops compositions that make extensive use of alternate tunings, textural guitar techniques and a broad range of stringed instruments.

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Andrew Tuttle is an Australian guitarist, banjo player and composer whose music blends folk traditions, ambient textures and experimental sound design. His recordings transform acoustic instruments into immersive, deeply atmospheric soundscape.

Known for celebrated albums such as Fleeting Adventure, Tuttle continues to push the boundaries of instrumental folk music. He is also set to release a forthcoming collaborative album with fellow Australian guitarist D.C. Cross, bringing together two of the most innovative voices in contemporary guitar music.

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D. West is a Denver-based guitarist whose work centres on fingerstyle acoustic guitar, drawing on American Primitive traditions alongside ambient and experimental influences. His debut instrumental album, A Permanent Sleep... or, the Great American Nowhere and Its Consequences, introduced his approach to long-form composition, while Cathedrals Beneath the Black Mountain expanded his use of 12-string guitar, subtle electronics and layered textures. In a 5/5 review,

Songlines described the album as "an accomplished, confident new album" and praised it as "a rich journey into the essence of innovative instrumental guitar music.

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Jeff Young is a Liverpool-based author, screenwriter and collage artist whose work explores memory, place, loss and the hidden histories of everyday life. His books include the Costa Biography Award-shortlisted Ghost Town (2020), Wild Twin (2024), winner of the 2025 TLS Ackerley Prize, and the novella Latchkey (2026). Wild Twin also features Young's own collage illustrations.

A regular contributor to Science and Magic, the newsletter published by Violette Editions, Young has worked across literature, theatre, radio and television. His visual art is closely connected to his writing, with collages and notebooks acting as what he describes as the visual beginnings of a story.

In 2025, his exhibition Haunted Paper at Dorothy in Liverpool's Baltic Triangle presented notebooks, diaries and collages created during the development of Ghost Town and Wild Twin. 

Young generously created and donated the cover artwork for My Heart Keeps Walking Towards You.

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