North Americans

The instrumental duo of guitarist Patrick McDermott and pedal steel player Barry Walker meld country-folk composition with ambient sonics, creating a languid and colorful world. The project began as a vehicle for Los Angeles-based acoustic guitarist Patrick McDermott, who is joined by Portland pedal steel player Barry Walker on Roped In, a rich and languid addition to the country-ambient canon. A country-indebted subgenre has emerged within that universe thanks to the pedal steel guitar, a notoriously fussy and expensive instrument that delivers heavenly tones for all the trouble it demands, as suited for conjuring mystical desert landscapes as it is for adding elasticity to country classics. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.