BASHO, ROBBIE - Venus In Cancer

"Though frequently overshadowed by his contemporary and Takoma Records labelmate John Fahey, the compositions and performances of Daniel R. Robinson Jr., best known by the stage name Robbie Basho, were integral in the development of the American primitive guitar style. Along with Fahey, and songwriter/composers such as Max Ochs, Leo Kottke, and others, Basho helped bring to the masses the distinct form of guitar finger-picking, which blended folk and country-blues with neo-classical composition techniques. Unlike his contemporaries, Basho went a step further by incorporating unorthodox open tunings on his 12-string guitar, as well as elements of Indian classical music, inspired by the sarod-playing of his mentor Ali Akbar Khan. Unfortunately Robbie Basho passed on in relative obscurity at the early age of 45 due to a fatal stroke, so he was never able to witness the extent of his influence. Nonetheless his legacy lives on in the works of American primitive guitar revivalists like James