Tashi Dorji

Bhutanese guitarist Tashi Dorji employs an array of approaches in his spontaneous improvisations, among them unconventional tunings and explorations outside traditional tonality. Cassette editions of his unaccompanied acoustic work began appearing in 2009, with a transition to vinyl marked by items such as Appa in 2015. He later took up the electric instrument and forged numerous partnerships, among them projects alongside Tyler Damon, Shane Parish, and Aaron Turner. During the 2020s Drag City started issuing his recordings, among them the politically charged we will be wherever the fires are lit in 2024.

Dorji grew up in Bhutan, where bootleg cassettes first introduced him to classic rock and metal, prompting him to pick up the guitar during his teenage years. Relocating to Asheville, North Carolina, in 2000 as a foreign exchange student placed him within the area’s punk community and prompted a decisive shift in outlook. Exposure to John Zorn and Derek Bailey subsequently steered him toward free jazz and experimental forms, leading him to cultivate distinctive improvisational methods. Releases commenced with the 2009 cassette Solo Improvisations. In 2014 a self-titled compilation surfaced on Ben Chasny’s Hermit Hunt label, while Blue Twelve marked his initial electric outing that same year. The duo MANAS, formed with drummer Thom Nguyen, began issuing cassettes and LPs in 2015; Dorji simultaneously issued the solo album Appa on Bathetic Records and a split LP with Marisa Anderson on Footfalls Records. VDSQ Solo Acoustic, Vol. 13 also appeared in 2015. Further partnerships that year included guitarist Shane Parish and drummer Tyler Damon, together with a split LP involving violist Eyvind Kang. Collected Works, another anthology of early cassette material, followed in 2016.

Continued joint work yielded encounters with Mette Rasmussen, C. Spencer Yeh, Aaron Turner, and additional musicians, as well as membership in Kuzu alongside Dave Rempis and Tyler Damon and the formation of Kogarashi with Patrick Shiroishi. Stateless, Dorji’s debut Drag City album, emerged in 2020. The Power of Water, a 2021 collaboration with Ian McColm and Frank Meadows, was released by Trouble in Mind. Astral Spirits brought out Master of Time, a 2022 effort with Susie Ibarra. Feeding Tube Records issued Sciamachy, recorded with percussionist Michael Zerang, in 2023. A Mouth at Both Ends, uniting Dorji with Joe McPhee and Bill Orcutt, appeared on Orcutt’s Palilalia imprint. Drag City also reissued the early cassettes Guitar Improvisations and Tashi Dorji on vinyl for the first time. Ere Guitar, a 2024 trio session with Elliott Sharp and Sally Gates, came out on Intakt Records. Gnash, another date with saxophonist Dave Rempis, surfaced on Aerophonic Records, while the solo acoustic album we will be wherever the fires are lit was issued by Drag City.