The distance from Nigel Gavin's Long Island, New York birthplace, to Auckland, New Zealand, where he now lives, may explain why his original working title for Thrum was, in fact, Off the Beaten Track. At first a visitor, now a resident, Nigel has long been a featured player in New Zealand's music scene, particularly in Auckland, playing guitar, banjo, mandolin, bass - indeed, almost anything with strings - with the Nairobi Trio, the Fondue Set, the Jews Brothers, the Blue Bottom Stompers, Below the Bassline, Jonathan Besser's Bravura and his own Snorkel, among others. He has also found time to create and mentor the multi-guitar Gitbox Rebellion ( which, in turn, has produced some fine guitarists of its own ) and to perform in collaborative ventures such as the free-jazz Vitamin S, often using other instruments such as the Chinese sheng. Floating like a butterfly, stinging like a bee ( or a mosquito, if you will - perhaps you should drop everything right now and listen to track 6 ), Nigel has contributed scene-stealing solos to an astonishing variety of musical groups and settings, bringing with him the dedication to the guitar that earned his place in Robert Fripp's legendary League of Crafty Guitarists. So, what does a guitarist whose versatility is his calling card, who is respected by other players around the world, who excites audiences with jaw-dropping amplified solos do, when he decides to record his own album? If he's Nigel Gavin, he picks up his beloved acoustic seven-string ( hand-made from native New Zealand woods by master luthier Laurie Williams ), retires to the sun-lit kitchen of his Mt. Eden home for several weeks, and quietly records his own thoughts, compositions, improvisations and ideas.