Stan Hubbs - Juggernaut [1982]

Our knowledge about Stan Hubbs is almost as hazy as his music. The story is that as a middle-aged man he suddenly decided to hire a band, retire to a cabin in the California wilderness, and bang out an acid-soaked cult classic in no more than two days. The album quickly went out of print and he faded back into obscurity, until recently when a Companion Records employee managed to re-issue it from vinyl. Although Crystal dropped in '82 it is entirely at home in the conscious, psychedelic sounds that defined the two decades previous. The 7-minute epic Juggernaut features spaced out, lo-fi production and beautiful male/female vocal layers. But the real star of course is Hubbs himself with his guitar work. What ostensibly may sound repetitious eventually comes to be appreciated as him entering an emotive, trance-like state as he dexterously solos over a pulsating rhythm section. 

Glen Porter - 29 Palms [2008]

Glen Porter is an instrumental hip hop producer out of Huntington Beach, California. First gaining traction in '08 after music off his debut record Blessed By a Young Death was featured on the OLN travel series Departures, he's since had a low-key but consistent output of EPs and albums. 29 Palms is indicative of his experimental tendencies, fluidly combining indie and post-rock guitar leads with a mid-track reggae breakdown. Making it all the more impressive is that Porter does his own live instrumentation instead of relying solely on samples.