Bill MacKay & Ryley Walker - Land of Plenty

Drag City are pleased to present the reissue of hypnotic syncretic guitar duo Bill MacKay and Ryley Walker’s recorded debut, ‘Land of Plenty’. And just in time for the 10th anniversary of the original release.

Now, who remembers where they were in January 2015? Bill and Ryley don’t need to, they’ve got ‘Land of Plenty’ to remind them. That’s when they made the record, but a scant year before, they barely knew each other. Once they met, though, they hit it off over mutual influences, like Albert King, Laura Nyro, Nick Drake, Bert Jansch, Ali Akbar Khan and Jimi Hendrix.

While the two of them are generally divided up by speakers, which is a groovy old-school way to have stereo sound, their shared headspace is a constant flow of ever-melding play, ranging across all sorts of genres and geographies from east to west and folding them immaculately into each other, whether in moments of transition or extended meditation. Listening out for each other as they’re picking, these boys dance together and never land a foot wrong. Whether head-to-head with six-strings or with Bill picking up his Requinto, or Ryley picking up his 12-string, these performances sound rich. The live capture seems to enhance the sound in all sorts of unpredictable ways that activates with the chemistry in their playing and ultimately serves to elevate ‘Land of Plenty’ in its field.