John McGrath

John McGrath is an Irish guitarist based in London. His music explores the boundaries of the ancient and modern as traditional elements meet improvisation and experimental tendencies. This debut solo album for Crooked Stem Recordings deals with themes of place, repetition and memory while spanning American primitive guitar,  avant-folk ensemble instrumentals, traditional Irish melody, and song.

McGrath grew up in a family that regularly engaged in folk sing-songs and was imbued with an open-minded attitude to myriad musical styles from an early age. As a teenager he played electric guitar in blues-rock bands, largely self-taught himself various styles from jazz to country and honed his improvisation skills on regular professional gigs around Ireland. At 17 he met Irish guitarist Eric Roche who would be a lasting influence. The music of Bill Frisell and John Fahey soon became favourites however, sparking a keen interest in solo guitar performance and composition. While relishing collaboration, performing on a single instrument has been his main focus ever since, as he continually searches for new sounds and textures.

McGrath has been interviewed / featured in The Wire, Aquarium Drunkard, Night Folk in the Afternoon, For the Sake of the Song, RTE Radio 1, Burning Ambulance, The Skinny, Bido Lito!, BBC Radio, Radio New Zealand, Sideways through Sound, and Sydney's FBi radio and has had his music synched on various television shows and sounded at Tate Modern and FACT. John has performed the UK premiere of Rhys Chatham's "Die Donnergotter" in addition to "Guitar Trio" alongside the composer. He has also performed with Dustin Wong, Sharon Gal, Cavalier Song, Howard Skempton and the aPAtT Orchestra. A vinyl recorded as part of the Never Records installation at the Liverpool Biennial was reworked in a live performance by Philip Jeck. As a solo performer John has performed at a number of festivals and has supported Richard Dawson, Gwenifer Raymond, Laraaji and Sun Araw. Recent gigs have been at Kings Place, the Islington and a John Fahey Memorial night at the Betsey Trotwood. Besides guitar-playing, McGrath has also authored a book with Routledge entitled, "Samuel Beckett, Repetition and Modern Music” (2018) (which has received positive reviews in The Wire and Burning Ambulance), writes regularly on music, and lectures at University of Surrey which is home to the International Guitar Research Centre (IGRC).