Spaghetti Eastern Music, the solo venture of genre-leaping NYC/Hudson Valley guitarist Sal Cataldi, is returning to the instrumental mode with the release of a new single, “A Scanner Darkly.”


The new work is a dramatic departure from Spaghetti Eastern’s latest releases, the stripped-down, all-acoustic ballad, “I Believe in Love,” and the nine-plus minute ambient/electronica opus, “Blues for A Lost Cosmonaut.” Borrowing its title from the classic dystopian novel by Philip K. Dick, “A Scanner Dark” is a brooding metal and funk-inflected showcase for Cataldi’s always sizzling lead guitar work. Its foundation is an ominous flatted-five main riff, one that brings to mind early Black Sabbath or King Crimson. This dark theme is complemented with driving wah wah rhythm guitar and swirling synths and piano inspired by the proto-Krautrock of Tangerine Dream and the free jazz of Cecil Taylor. This sonic architecture serves as the backdrop for some searing lead guitar work in a style flavored by the artist’s love of prog, psychedelia and jazz.

The music video for “A Scanner Darkly” can be viewed here:
youtu.be/uGNK2Mc58y8

The tune is a preview of Spaghetti Eastern’s forthcoming all-instrumental album, “From Our Labs to Your Lobes V.1” It was recorded by Cataldi at his studios in Woodstock, N.Y. and a floating one aboard his houseboat, The Garlic Knot, in Port Washington, N.Y.

Critics from prestige outlets like The New York Times have heaped praise on Cataldi’s work since his debut album under the Spaghetti Eastern Music moniker, Sketches of Spam. This was a 16-track, 69-minute surf through a slew of contrasting moods. It’s largely guitar-driven instrumentals were inspired by the acid funk of 70’s Miles, Krautrock, Ennio Morricone’s Spaghetti Western movie soundtracks as well as Fripp & Eno ambience and the sound of ECM guitar god Terje Rypdal. These contrasted bare-bones acoustic vocal songs reflective of the influence of exploratory Brit folker John Martyn. The discs’ acoustic titles included originals like “Wild One” and “Mama Called,” a cover of the Zappa instrumental rarity “Sleep Dirt” and a DADGAD-tuned, ballad paced reinvention of the Beatles’ “Ticket to Ride,” one that garnered airplay on SiriusXM, WFUV’s “Mixed Bag,” WFMU, Radio Woodstock and many others.

The New York Times writes “Cataldi’s original instrumentals and acoustic vocal tunes have a beat unmistakably his own” while Time Out New York says "the largely instrumental, Eastern-influenced jams are infused with some delicate guitar work and hauntingly moody atmosphere." Cataldi and his Spaghetti Eastern has been called “truly excellent” by The Village Voice, “a wild ride” by Radio Woodstock, “beautiful and unique” by WFUV’s Mixed Bag, “charmingly melodic and off-center” by WFMU and “a jazz virtuoso without the need to prove it” by Aquarian Weekly.

Almanac Weekly calls Cataldi “a unique voice who can conjure a surprising blend of exploratory fusion, electronica and indie song craft” while NYSMusic adds: “If Walt Disney World’s Space Mountain had a secret chill detour, Spaghetti Eastern Music would be the soundtrack.” KMS Reviews calls Spaghetti Eastern Music “pure harmonic bliss” while New York-based MusiciansforMusicians.Org labels it “as beautiful as a well-tended garden and as seductive as a courtesan in an opium den.” Hudson Valley One calls Cataldi’s oeuvre “Part Sergio Leone fever dream, part Ravi Shankar raga, a whirling dervish of musical creation.” Huffington Post applauds the “soaring, searing instrumentals” and “beautiful, quirky songs that have a darkness-in-light straight out of the Nick Drake bag. Simply put, it’s the perfect soundtrack for New York City life.” Rolling Stone writer John Swenson, the man who penned the liner notes to Frank Zappa’s “Shut Up n Play Yer Guitar,” may have put it best: “He’s the hippie guitarist playing to another dimension.”