Winner of One World Music’s ‘Best Acoustic Instrumental Album of 2014,’  Tales from the Wine Dark Sea’ is Tom Caufield’s fourth collection of contemplative, acoustic guitar pieces, and his first on steel string guitar.

The collection’s dynamic arc is based on Carl Jung’s ideas of self-actualization, with the sea as a symbol of the collective unconscious. His research revealed that dreams of sea voyages were common in those seeking to transcend shallow, ego-based ideas of identity and replace them with true, pre-literate and pre-historic archetype rooted self.

Blending American rural guitar styles, ambient soundscapes and Irish and Turkish traditional ballads, ‘Tales from the Wine Dark Sea’ is a varied yet cohesive, transcendent listen.

Cover image by Julian Escardo.