Ethan Setiawan: “Joyner Ridge”

Not just for “Losing My Religion”! Instruments played on Ethan Setiawan’s latest album include mandolin, mandola, octave mandolin, 5-string electric mandocello, and more.

Sounds like a lot of mandolins, no matter how you slice it. The guy goes deep with the instrument. Are there secret handshakes in the mandolin community?

There’s a wild solo that breaks out about halfway through our highlighted track “Joyner Ridge.” Frankly, it’s so wild that it feels like it was overdubbed from a separate song. But it’s also got a kind of Ivesian dissonance that works for New England, and breaks up the monotony of monolithic New Age, forest folk. Off Across The Great Divide, vol. 1. Via Adhyâropa Records.

Stream, share, buy to your heart’s content.

---