I was doing a little bit of guitar video surfing on YouTube again today – and I came across a name I hadn’t seen in awhile – “Mattias IA Eklundh”. Mattias is a guitar god you may not know, and may never have even heard of before you read this post here on Guitar Review. Here, I’ll let his playing speak for itself, you watch this video first:
So now you know that Mattias Eklundh is both very talented and very unusual. Now that you’ve seen his soloing ability, I want you to hear (and see) it in the context of a song. Mattias writes both the lyrics as well as the music. Oh – did I mention he was the lead singer too? Mattias has albums by himself and also with his band “Freak Kitchen”. These videos are both with Freak Kitchen.
Nobody’s Laughing Here – by Freak Kitchen
In this next video you can hear not only Mattias’ fast and unusual lead technique, but also the various “sound effects” he’s able to create using only a pick and his fingers:
Speak When Spoken To – by Freak Kitchen
What did you think? His style is basically a meld of the greatest guitar gods with his own style on top. You can hear Vai, Satriani, Gilbert, and Van Halen. But you also hear some crazy, crazy noises. Reading his bio on his Freak Guitar web site and you’ll see that not only is Mattias left handed, but he uses absolutely NO EFFECTS whatsoever. NONE. All the sounds, noises, growls, and gurgles you hear are created using only his pick and his fingers. I encourage you to learn more about him. You can read his Wikipedia entry here. Be sure to visit Freak Kitchen’s web site as well.
I encourage you to check out both the Freak Kitchen records, but the solo “Freak Guitar” album’s by Mattias are freakin’ awesome! Be sure to get the Road Less Travelled one if you haven’t already, and be sure to listen to his instrumental rendition of “Detroit Rock City” among others!