Flickering Shadow ProductionsAndy Summers has just released a new solo instrumental album titled Triboluminescence, which finds the founding Police guitarist delving into a variety of exotic sonic landscapes and musical genres.
Summers tells ABC Radio that his album’s unusual title is “a scientific word [that] means ‘striking something to create light from dark,’ which I thought was a very good metaphor for making music or any creative act.”
Andy says that on the new album, he moved deeper into the direction he explored on his previous record, 2015’s Metal Dog, incorporating such influences as jazz, West African and Indonesian music.
“I’m always trying to push on a bit rather than just resting on old sounds that certainly to my ear are becoming a bit cliche and a bit overdone,” he explains about his solo work. “So, I personally feel my mission as a composer and as a creative musician is to search for new sounds.”
“In my case, maybe it has been influenced by exotic sounds [I’ve heard while] traveling all over the world, including Africa, Southeast Asia, China.”
Regarding his approach to creating his solo album, Summers notes, “In a way, I regard the studio as sort of a giant paintbox — or you could call it a kitchen if you like — where you mix all sorts of things together.”
He says many of his solo pieces begin with him using devices and instruments to create interesting sounds that “tickle your ear in a different way.”
Summers says he feels that a solo project like Triboluminescence, on which he played almost every instrument, is more personal than an album made with a variety of musicians.
Summers will support Triboluminescence with a brief South American tour that kicks off Friday in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
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