MARK MCGUIRE

Mark McGuire biography
Best-known as the guitarist for North American kosmische musik trio Emeralds, Mark McGuire (b. 1986) is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist in his own right who has released a steady stream of solo recordings since 2006. Playing since age nine, McGuire's primary instrument is the guitar both electric and acoustic, which he processes through synthesizers and loop pedals to create a distinct sonic signature inspired by Manuel Göttsching, Popol Vuh and Steve Reich.

The Cleveland native performs mostly improvised stream-of-consciousness instrumental jams, multitracking delay-riddled guitar solos into a kaleidoscopic flurry of pensive, sentimental and even melancholic psychedelia, which defined the sound of the fertile period from 2006 to 2010. While McGuire's work is rooted in minimal music and 1970s progressive rock and krautrock, other elements like New Age, jazz, pop and techno find their way into his material from 2010 onwards, which scales back the meandering improvisation in favour of concise composition. A compulsively prolific musician, McGuire's discography stretches to over seventy releases, his earlier work usually issued in limited editions on cassette and CD-R. Outside of Emeralds, McGuire has also participated in collaborative projects such as Skyramps (with Oneohtrix Point Never's Daniel Lopatin), Inner Tube (with Spencer Clark of the Skaters) and Sun Watcher (with Lambsbread's Shane Mackenzie), as well as releasing cooperative LPs under his own name with fellow Ohio artists Trouble Books and Nate Scheible. McGuire continues to self-release material via Bandcamp since the early 2010s, using it as a testing ground for guitar sketches, singles, archival recordings and albums yet to find physical distribution.

A glorious amalgam and reimagining of Ash Ra Tempel, Fripp & Eno, Popol Vuh, Jade Warrior, the Durutti Column and Mike Oldfield, Mark McGuire is highly recommended to fans of the softer, more expressive side of prog-electronics and krautrock. A selection of tracks culled from his out-of-print early work can be found on the 2011 Editions Mego compilation A Young Person's Guide to Mark McGuire. Those curious about his later era are advised to check out his three most critically popular and relatively accessible albums: 2010's Living With Yourself, 2011's Get Lost and 2013's Along the Way.


- Gordy, July 2023