Periphery guitarist and mastermind Misha “Bulb” Mansoor has released a new solo single called “Echo Teuffel.” And if you’re wondering, yes, the title does come from the brand of guitar on which the track was composed.
Explains Mansoor:
“This song is aptly titled because it was born of me jamming on my rather unique Teuffel Birdfish and my Ep2 Echoplex tape echo unit. Sometimes gear can just inspire ideas and vibes, and this is one of those examples.
“The main progression just sorta came to life in front of me, and I recorded it from there, slowly building on it. I thought it might be interesting to play with an unexpected sort of phrasing, so the beginning is mostly a quintuplet shuffle vibe. I always enjoyed how the echos kinda dance around that.
“I also find that sometimes I try to move across ideas too quickly and I don’t really let the vibe breathe, develop and build, so I exercised a little patience with this one.
“Then at the end, the main idea comes back with the straight groove that I would have expected to hear all along, this time with some synths joining that are also being run through some tape echo units.
“This one was all about building a vibe and preserving it. It took a little time for me to get everything just right with this one, but I’m genuinely happy with how it turned out.
“Fun fact: Soloing in 5 is hard so it took some time to get the phrasing right. A lot of my go-to tricks and lines just wouldn’t work.”
Unlike Mansoor’s last solo single, “Parabolica,” this song sounds decidedly less Peripheral. Mansoor maintains his talent for writing great melodies, but there’s not a djent to be heard here. In fact, the whole song can be described as “easy going.” Maybe I’m just projecting because the Teuffel Birdfish is a headless guitar not unlike the headless Strandberg favored by Paul Masvidal, but I get real Cynic vibes here. It’s pretty much perfect for a lazy afternoon.
Check out “Echo Teuffel” below. Bulb’s first proper solo release, Moderately Fast, Adequately Furious, arrives on July 16 via Periphery’s own 3DOT Recordings label; pre-order ithere.