Candyrat Artists

Andy Mckee was born in Topeka, Kansas he is considered to be one of the best acoustic solo guitarists. His Youtube videos shot to a staggering 37 MILLION views and he is still working hard, producing music that continues to leave ears pulsating and yearning for more. just so you know, as a testament to his popularity, his guitar videos once ranked not only the FIRST, but also the SECOND and THIRD positions for the Top-Rated videos on Youtube. that shows how much people are spellbound by his music.

Andy's musical heros include Michael Hedges, Don Ross (who will be featured here as well), and Preston Reed. he began with fiddling with the electric guitar but shifted his focus to the acoustic guitar in his teens. He continues to improve and is also inspired by other musicians (Earth Wind and Fire, The Yellowjackets, Bjork, Imogen Heap, Pantera, Eric Johnson, Dream Theater, etc)

as a true master he has his ears attuned to multiple aspects of the song (eg the structure and content) and constantly experiments with concepts such as altered tunings, partial capos, and tapping, leading to new discoveries and reclaiming new grounds for the possibilities of guitaring.

if you're wondering where he lives, he still lives in Topeka. but don't try looking for him, becoz he is most probably somewhere around the world doing one of his 100 to 200 sold out performances around the world.

He is the champion of the Canadian Guitar Festival Competition,
He has to date 4 albums. All of his songs are original material, overflowing with awesomeness.
He has 2 live performance DVDs. behold, more than 22 million individuals have heard and seen him on YouTube,
Antoine has successfully crafted out his niche and global reputation for his refreshing innovativeness and bold creativity. He has toured across Europe, Canada, and USA and also performed at The Montreal International Jazz Festival and the Canadian Guitar Festival

yet Antoine isn't just some master who hides in the hills perfecting his skills and honing his awesomeness. He conducts seminars, workshops and master classes to help ordinary folks like you and me, and even post youtube videos of guitar exercises and song breakdowns that we can try, if we want to.

lets here what some say about him..

"Existence" album review, CandyRat Records, 2008; "Dufour has subtle and effortless way of transitioning his compositions in just a few short seconds from energetic and uplifting to a soulful warm nostalgia. While melodic and accessible to any listener, his music is at the same time extremely complex both texturally and harmonically. Dufour is clearly a musician who deeply understands the nature of the guitar."
© Timothy Smith Minor 7th webzine

"The youthful Antoine Dufour's million views on Youtube are easily understood. His style packs a rock band's punch behind extraordinary fluency and features highly effective flamenco-like percussion and deftly reflective melodies as well as urgent, nimble picking."
© Rob Adams The Herald, October 16th, 2007, Glasgow, Scotland

"Existence" album review, 2008: "The 13-cut Existence is a wonderland of fingerpicking and highly intricate compositions soothing the soul as they engage the mind. Dufour's riffs are incredible, never-ending, and at times seemingly impossible for human fingers to pull off."

of the multitude of guitarists, he towers above them all. and yes he still commands respect from both the experienced and the young talents. for his name is Don. Don Ross.

He has done what no other guitarist has ever done before (some didn't even dare think it possible). in 1988, he won the prestigious U.S. National Fingerstyle Guitar Championship. and if that is not awesome enough, in 1996, he repeated that feat. that is why guitarists all over are clambering at his feet.

Don not only has precision and power, he allows his emotions to flow through his music with transparency and utter sincerity (as you will see in one of song that he wrote for his only son who unfortunately passed on).
He is Scottish but doesn't sport a skirt. some say he looks like Hagrid from the Harry Potter series, though it is undeniable that he does magic with his guitar.

here's a brief flash of his life:
at 8yrs old, experimented with the guitar soloing.
at 10, started fiddling with alternate tunings and fingerstyling.
today: a master in jazz, folk, rock and classical. what then is his style? in the words of Don, his style is "heavy wood".

Jimmy Wahlsteen. what more can i say. i have never heard a fingerpicking like his. neither have i heard his open tunings before (not that i can decipher them out anyways).

this musical genius produced an instrumtal album himself, entitled "181st Songs". he pretty much played everything in that entire album and mixed it all up and gave the world an awesome package.
yes and he is one of the few that has a pop inspired sound. extremely refreshing if you ask me.

Jimmy crafted out his reputation in Sweden as one of the most sought after session musicians and he also appears on Sweedish shows as a musical director and band member for local and international acts.

to end it off, "181st Songs" was voted by John Diliberto and the Echoes radio show staff as the top 25 Essential Echoes CDs for 2010.

enough said.

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