City Static EP by Jamie Stillway
Over the past decade, Jamie Stillway has been hard at work, quietly establishing herself as one of the top acoustic fingerstyle guitarists of her generation. Dating back to 2005, she has self-released 3 full length albums of original compositions, garnering accolades from the likes of Fretboard Journal (“one of the best fingerstyle guitarists around today”) and Jazz Times (“Mixing up genres without pretension, the nimble Stillway moves freely with wit and creative restlessness”).
On March 16, 2018, she will release her debut solo electric guitar recordings on Portland’s Fluff and Gravy Records. With the “City Static” EP, Jamie demonstrates the broadening of her compositional palette and her versatility as a musician, seamlessly incorporating ambient, jazz, classical and pop elements. Stillway was inspired to record “City Static” in conjunction with her 40th birthday. She wanted to mark this passage of time with a new album, and the occasion called for her to channel her adventurous style into a new, electrified sound. As she likes to say, “it’s like a midlife crisis, but I bought a telecaster instead of sports car.” An electric approach also resonated with what Stillway observed in the world around her; as she created space for silence in her life, the constant background noise of the city became more and more noticeable— a droning static hum that inspired Stillway’s most experimental and interesting work to date. She weaves together the songs on the album with transitional tracks of “static” inspired by her close listening and sense of place.
In order to foster these new sounds into the world, Stillway enlisted the talents of two acclaimed Portland guitarists; recording and mixing the EP at Blue Rooms Studios with Mike Coykendall (M. Ward, She and Him) and mastering with Jon Neufeld (Black Prairie). The result is a collection of spacious and contemplative compositions that will captivate even the casual listener.
Apart from her recording career, Stillway has become an in-demand instructor and clinician, having taught at camps and festivals across the United States. She has become an endorsing artist for Santa Cruz Guitar Company, Stevens Guitar of Munich, Shubb capos, and Schertler amplification and pickups, as well as a regular contributor to Acoustic Guitar Magazine.
