Carl Weingarten is an American guitarist, photographer, and founder of the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

music label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and t ...

Multiphase Records. He is best known for his atmospheric sound and use of the

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...

and

Dobro Dobro () is an American brand of resonator guitars owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally a gui ...

. Weingarten has played a significant role in progressive

underground music Underground music is music with practices perceived as outside, or somehow opposed to, Popular music, mainstream popular music culture. Underground styles lack the commercial success of popular music movements, and may involve the use of avant-g ...

for over 40 years, recording several solo and collaborative

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

albums and signing various musicians to his label.

Biography

Before acquiring a taste in music, Weingarten gained an interest in photography early on; at seven years old, he received his first camera as a Christmas gift. By junior high, Weingarten moved on to shooting

Super 8 film Super 8 mm film is a motion-picture film format released in 1965 by Eastman Kodak as an improvement over the older "Double" or "Regular" 8 mm home movie format. The formal name for Super 8 is 8-mm Type S, distinguishing it from the ...

s, and was awarded two Honorable Mentions in the Kodak Teenage Movie Awards. However, in high school, he also aspired to teach himself how to play

after his first exposure to

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

. Weingarten later earned a degree in cinema production which would go hand in hand with the atmospheric music he would later become known for. According to Weingarten, "The cinematic tone in my music comes from my visual arts background. I try to paint it all in sound." However, breaking into the film industry proved difficult in the mid-west, and he began writing and recording his own

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

s and other music for modern dance companies. This led him to join the indie label movement. Weingarten founded Multiphase Records in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

in 1980. The following year, he released its first album, ''Submergings'', in collaboration with Gale Ormiston and Phil Neon. That same year gave birth to Weingarten's

electronic rock Electronic rock (also known as electro rock and synth rock) is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s when rock b ...

band Delay Tactics. The group, featuring Walter Whitney on

synths A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis an ...

and guitarists David Udell and Reed Nesbit, took heavy influence from

Robert Fripp Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is an English musician, composer, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session mu ...

and served as more of a recording unit than live act. They were, however, among the first of such indie groups to use

digital delay A digital delay line (or simply delay line, also called delay filter) is a discrete element in a digital filter, which allows a signal to be delayed by a number of samples. Delay lines are commonly used to delay audio signals feeding loudspeakers ...

s in both studio recordings and live looping performances. With two albums under their belt, the group disbanded in 1986. The members regrouped in 2016 and a third record, Elements of Surprise (MP-CD127) was released in 2023. In the 1990s, Weingarten moved to San Francisco and continued producing his own solo and collaboration albums and toured. He reunited multiple times with Walter Whitney among other musicians in producing a broad catalog of studio recordings. In 1995, several musicians were brought together under the Court Musicians moniker to record an album fusing various cultural styles; two of such tracks featured Weingarten on guitar, and his experience with the project's

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

themes had a profound influence on him musically. He has more recently moved to

Alameda, California Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for "Avenue (landscape), tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States, located in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is built on an informal archipe ...

and continued releasing new music throughout the 2000s. Weingarten's records have received praise by media outlets such as ''

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

'', Muze.com, Music Web Express, ''Exposé'' magazine, and

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

among others. With influences spanning

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone ( , ; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, Orchestration, orchestrator, conductor, trumpeter, and pianist who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 film score, scores for cinema and televisi ...

Brian Eno Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...

Antonio Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist, impresario of Baroque music and Roman Catholic priest. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lif ...

, and

Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His singing, guitar playing and songwriting on his landmark 1936 and 1937 recordings have influenced later generations of musicians. Although his r ...

among others, his albums have often been described as sounding more akin to a thematic soundtrack than a more formal collection of songs, and his innovative style blending and experimentation have been widely commended. In 2002, Weingarten released one of his most critically acclaimed works, ''escapesilence''. The record would become an

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

staple and the winner of the "Listeners Choice Award" from the syndicated PRI program Echoes. Despite his success in the music industry, Weingarten is still an avid photographer. Today, a gallery of photos can be viewed at his website focusing on subjects like urban landscapes and architecture, natural landscapes, concerts, and nightlife. The site also offers digital restoration of old photos, and his work has been featured in exhibits such as the Frank Bette Center for the Arts.

Equipment

Traveler guitar Traveler(s), traveller(s), The Traveler, or The Traveller may refer to: People *Anyone engaged in travel Groups * Romani people, or Roma, or Gypsies, and their subgroups in various countries * Indigenous Norwegian Travellers * Irish Travellers ...

Slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...

EBow The EBow is an electronic device used for playing string instruments, most often the electric guitar. It was invented by the American guitarist Greg Heet in 1969 and introduced in 1976. The EBow uses a pickup and a magnetic feedback circuit to ...

Discography

With Delay Tactics

* ''Out-Pop Options'' (1982, 2000 re-release) * ''Any Questions?'' (1984, 2000 re-release) * ''Imperfect Strangers'' (2020 Compilation) * ''Elements of Surprise'' (2023 release)

Solo

* ''Living in the Distant Present'' (1985) * ''Laughing at Paradise'' (1988) * ''Pandora's Garage'' (1992) * ''Slide of Hand'' (1992) * ''Redwood Melodies: A Traveler's Companion'' (1995) * ''The Acoustic Shadow'' (1995) * ''Blue Faith'' (2000) * ''escapesilence'' (2002) * ''Hand in the Sand: A Collection – 1990–2004'' (2004) * ''Local Journeys'' (2005) * ''Lost in the Air'' (2008) * ''Panomorphia'' (2012) * ''Life Under Stars'' (2014) * ''This Is Where I Found You'' (2018 feat.

Ulrich Schnauss Ulrich Schnauss (born 8 September 1977) is a German Electronic music, electronic musician and producer based in London, England. He was a member of Tangerine Dream from 2014 to 2020. Biography Ulrich Schnauss was born in the northern German ...

) * ''Ember Days'' (2020) * ''Stop Me Try'' (2022) * ''The Simian River Collection 1980-2020'' (2023)

Collaborations

* ''Submergings: A Study in Sonic Ambiance'' w/ Gale Ormiston & Phil Neon (1981, 2001 re-release) * ''Windfalls'' w/ Gale Ormiston (1983) * ''Dreaming in Colors'' w/ Walter Whitney (1986, 2018 re-release) * ''Primitive Earth'' w/ Walter Whitney (1990) * ''Critical Path'' w/ Joe Venegoni (1991) * ''At the Court of the Chera King'', featured on two tracks w/ The Court Musicians (1995) * ''Silent Night'' w/ Joe Venegoni (1998) * ''Invisibility'' w/ Forrest Fang (2006) * ''Where There Is Light'' (as Weingarten-Charlton) w/ Catherine Marie Charlton (2017)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weingarten, Carl Living people Musicians from St. Louis Record producers from Missouri Record producers from California Guitarists from California American ambient musicians American slide guitarists American lead guitarists American male composers 21st-century American composers American experimental guitarists American male guitarists American rock guitarists American music industry executives American photographers Guitarists from Missouri 21st-century American male musicians Year of birth missing (living people)