Childish Mind by Jonathan Bockelmann

On his debut album, Childish Mind, guitarist and electronic musician Jonathan Bockelmann presents a series of light, serene acoustic guitar vignettes. The Munich-born musician has studied classical guitar for about two decades, perfecting his technique and gaining mastery of the instrument alongside work with his electronic duo GLASKIN. With GLASKIN, which features Jonathan and his brother Ferdi, he has explored his compositional vision, weaving genres like IDM, Ambient, jungle, and techno together. Childish Mind sees him explore a new compositional path by crafting delicately interwoven melodies for the acoustic guitar. From the gentle webs and patterns Jonathan creates, there’s a sense of meditativeness throughout the album—his music radiates out, filling moments with a sense of ease and calmness.

Jonathan began writing Childish Mind after spending some time transcribing music by Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, whose work often sprawls out with airiness. He hadn’t composed before, but once he set his mind to it, it came easily, like something that had been built up inside of him over the course of his musical life. His inspirations come from composers like J.S. Bach, whose complex and emotionally resonant solo works have long been a mainstay of classical string repertoire, and Leo Brouwer, a Cuban guitarist and composer whose work finds a balance between virtuosic techniques and lovely melodies. By composing, Jonathan aims to add new ideas to the ever-evolving acoustic guitar repertoire, using his background as a starting point to help make new musical possibilities for the instrument.

He composed Childish Mind over the course of a year, often focusing on the types of melodies that have called to him throughout his career as a guitarist and since his youth. His composition process begins with a simple melody. He starts from that core motif, and then branches out, finding the rhythms and harmonies that might complement it. Nature is often an inspiration in his work, the idyllic natural world serving as a source of ideas for his playful, yet meditative sound.

Much of the music on Childish Mind feels built from intuition, focused on the feelings melodies and sounds might conjure up. This music is all about the floating atmospheres the acoustic guitar can create all on its own. “Whitepoint” opens the album with a sense of openness, a laid-back flow driven by cascading rolls and simple melodies; later on, on pieces like the title track, Jonathan takes on a quicker pace, finding a balance between groovy, fast-paced runs that are full of peppy energy. Each track effortlessly blossoms from the next, creating the sense of contemplativeness that colors the album as a whole.

Many of the ideas he explores throughout Childish Mind are born from thoughts he’s had for many years, leading to the album’s title. There’s a wondrousness to his compositions that never fades—not unlike a childlike discovery and curiosity. Jonathan finds space in simplicity, letting every melody tumble out with effervescence.

- Vanessa Ague

guitarist and composer.