Music was everywhere for Tim Motzer as a child; at 11 he dreamt he should play the guitar and promptly acted on it. Immersed in sound from family and his surrounding community – FM radio in its formative years, swapping tapes with friends, and of course the local record shop. An early adopter of recording with a four-track Tascam, Tim’s desire to experiment with sound would lead him on an outer and inner journey spanning decades.
With nine solo soundscape albums to his credit, Motzer is widely known for his distinct textural electro-acoustic guitar voice utilizing looping, bowing, electronics, and prepared techniques. He appears on stunning collaborations with credits on over 100 albums, not the least of which is the historically important album King Britt Presents Sister Gertrude Morgan, where Tim’s cinematic textures led to features in Miami Vice, True Blood, and several independent films.
Tim Motzer tours the world with Bandit65, an improvising trio he co-leads with guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel and drummer Gintas Janusonis. He has worked with an impressive and diverse array of artists including David Sylvian, Burnt Friedman, Jaki Liebezeit, poet Ursula Rucker, King Britt, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Vernon Reid, David Torn, Markus Reuter, and Pat Mastelotto. A pioneer in the independent artist space, Tim has released an eclectic array of over 50 musical projects under his 1k Recordings imprint.
At a time when we all took a deep breath and had a good look around – both at our outer and our inner worlds, Tim Motzer met his muse once again. Songs began to ‘drop from the sky’ as he puts it, songs grounded in the healing power of love. Some of the phrases read like mantras, meditations for a complicated time. He was inspired, quite handily, to perform and record all parts of these evolving compositions, including vocals – a first in his career. Mellotron, guitars, bass, prophet synth, optigan, wood flute, cymbals, drums, reed organ, electronics, drum machine, and toy keyboards all flow together in a lush and mysterious way, psychedelic at times, transcendent and futuristic at others.
Many Ways Around The Sun is therefore drawn from Tim’s deepest musical influences, including his own musical history. One is reminded of The Flaming Lips for a moment, of Magical Mystery Tour in another, and then drawn into a floating world of sound with meditative messages of love and hope. There are many ways around the sun for all of us.
"lushly hypnotic". - h. lowman
"Woooo Tim! This is something to be happy about. Masterpiece!"
- j. carlstedt
"SO WONDERFUL AND BEAUTIFUL AND HEALING AND LOVING 💗☀️💗. Need.all.of.these.poems.in.writing.STAT.PRONTO.ASAP .thank you. POET" - u. rucker
Played, recorded and produced by Tim Motzer
Mixed and mastered by Brian Boland at Intracoastal
Recorded at 1k Recording studio, Philadelphia except ’Lessons in Life' recorded at the SoundSpa, Buckinghamshire
Photography by Karina and Tim Motzer
Graphic Design by Jason Waggaman
Paintings by Tim Motzer
Thanks to Eric Bogacz / Special thanks and love to Karina for caring for this album so deeply, and to whom it is dedicated.
All songs composed by Tim Motzer
Published by One K Music Company (BMI)
(c) 2021 Tim Motzer (p) 2021 1k Recordings
Licensed by Ropeadope LLC / catalog # RAD-628
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Tim, I have listened to your album half a dozen times - and I'm enjoying it more and more with each listen! Amazing arrangements, soulfulness of your singing, overall sound - right on, my friend!. My most favorite songs are So Long (wow, what a beautiful blues!); Deeper Than Anything (one of the most impressive songs on the album - a great opening tune); Only Love Can Save this World (great love song - just a soulful marvel).
And your playing, man!!! Thank you so much for the music! - Vlad Oboronko
1K RECORDINGS
is an eclectic Philadelphia-based boutique label run by guitarist, composer, and producer Tim Motzer.
The catalogue features genre-defying solo releases and adventurous collaborations, spanning ambient soundscapes to progressive to electronic to art pop and beyond.
"A catalog of music that is as unique as it is unpredictable."
- WXPN, The Key
supported by 20 fans who also own “Many Ways Around the Sun”
Another stellar release from this long-lived ensemble. Though the King Crimson influence is obvious & that comparison unavoidable, these guys have made many great recordings that can't be categorized as 'mere copies'. The perfect balance of aggressive riffing and serene soundscapes. Stephen Roberts
Cacophonous mash of noise, electronic sounds and vocals powered by energetic walls of drums. Listen loud, jump often. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 28, 2014
supported by 18 fans who also own “Many Ways Around the Sun”
An amazing follow-up to Fractal Guitar. I came across Fractal Guitar as a fan of Markus Reuter, and after downloading that had to go ahead and download all the other music Stephan has on Bandcamp. Love this stuff... crimlarks