For 2010 Miles of Trane selects guitarist Matt Stevens as Artist of the Year.
Talent in making excellent music has certainly been the starting point in picking Matt. Ghost placed as a top ten album, interlacing superb guitar playing and loops into a wonderful tapestry of sounds that can serve as the focal point for listening, ambient backdrop, study in technique, or idealization of composition.
Other than talent, an important component of his success has been an incredible entourage and support staff that has consisted of, well, basically Matt Stevens. He pays for this machine with grossly overprice music: pay-what-you-want-even-free downloads. Understandably he has to charge for the CDs.
This emphasis on the art of his music has earned him my respect and admiration. But this award isn't payback for giving it to us at a price we name. It's well-deserved recognition that Matt Stevens captures the ethereal, transcendent, beauty of a world of sound.
