Pat Metheny set to release new album Road To The Sun on BMG’s Modern Recordings imprint – track preview

Revered US guitarist Pat Metheny has signed a new record deal with BMG imprint Modern Recordings – in his first label move in over two decades, ending his longstanding time at Nonesuch. The first fruits of this new era for the multi-Grammy Award winner will see him release a new album, Road To The Sun, on 5 March 2021 which features two major new works composed by Metheny with the music performed by five of the world’s leading guitarists: Jason Vieaux and the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet.

Grammy-winner Vieaux, has been described by NPR as “perhaps the most precise and soulful classical guitarist of his generation”, and performs a four-movement solo guitar suite ‘Four Paths Of Light’, which is followed by the centrepiece of the album, the six-movement piece, ‘Road To The Sun’, by the fellow Grammy-award winning Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (LAGQ), who Metheny describes as “one of the best bands in the world”. 

The record continues the powerful storytelling style that has long been a hallmark of the Metheny sound – which links such classic albums by the guitarist as Secret Story, Bright Size Life, 80/81,One Quiet Night, Still Life (talking), Song X, and among dozens more.

Commenting on his move to a new label Metheny said: “Music is infinite and open. I have never felt limited by any of the cultural issues that live on the perimeter of the mission at hand. The quest that Modern Recordings is undertaking intersects perfectly with the kind of musician that I aspire to be. I am so excited to be able to continue the research under the auspices of this excellent team of people who love music without boundaries in the same way that I do.”

Christian Kellersmann, SVP Modern Recordings, said, “It’s a big pleasure and honor to welcome Pat Metheny to Modern Recordings. Since his first album in 1976 he has developed a unique career as a musician, composer and as an artist, who has been always searching for new musical experiences. I am excited that he follows this path on his new album Road to the Sun, which opens another new chapter in his oeuvre.”

Fred Casimir, BMG EVP Global Repertoire & Marketing said, “We launched Modern Recordings exactly a year ago with a vision to reimagine the jazz and classical world for the streaming age. There could be no better way to celebrate the first anniversary of Modern Recordings than to sign Pat Metheny, one of the standout musicians of the past half century. We are delighted to welcome him to BMG.”

Modern Recordings artist roster includes Scottish composer Craig Armstrong, producer Robot Koch, composer Meredi, composer, producer and pianist Thomas Bartlett, conductor and composer Kristjan Järvi, composer and trumpet-player Nils Petter Molvaer, countertenor Andreas Scholl, pianist Tamar Halperin and producer, composer and conceptual artist Hendrik Weber aka Pantha du Prince.

For more info visit modernrecordings.de/ and listen to the first track ‘Road to the Sun, Pt. 2’ below