Daily Distraction: Guitarist Yasmin Williams will blow your mind

I'm always on the lookout for good solo guitar music, so when I heard about Yasmin Williams' new album, Urban Driftwood, I had to check it out. The record has been on repeat ever since. 

But it wasn't until yesterday that I watched a few videos of Williams to see exactly how she was creating her percussive, hypnotic sounds. I knew she had to be using open tunings and employing a lot of finger-tapping, but seeing this young Virginia guitarist in action left me awestruck. See for yourself: 

According to Sam Sodomsky's recent Pitchfork review, Williams was drawn to her instrument after conquering "Guitar Hero 2." She wanted to finger-tap like all the shredders that came before her, but she created a new way to do it, tuning all the strings in harmony with each other, laying the guitar on her lap and playing it like a keyboard. She also often attaches a kalimba to the body of the guitar, accenting her compositions with plucked notes of the thumb piano. 

Here's another video for good measure. Enjoy.