Cabin fever

Titles can be deceiving. You might think All Hopped Up, Dominic Gaudious’ fourth release, was recorded in a burst of jittery energy. Not so — the instrumental, acoustic world guitarist’s first album in three years was written and produced primarily in his Atlanta apartment. “I had a great time recording this and it was all done at my leisure,” Gaudious says. “I didn’t have any deadlines or constraints from being in a studio.”

The most obvious potential problem of being a one-man operation — Gaudious overdubs nearly all the instruments on his album, wrote the songs, self-produced and released it — is that no one tells you when a track is finished. But that doesn’t concern him. “You have to have confidence in yourself. The bottom line is, this is your music,” he explains. “You know when it’s done, and if you don’t, then you probably shouldn’t be a solo musician. I know exactly where a song is going from the start. It evolves, but I believe that if you can’t play it live, it shouldn’t be on the CD.”

With drums and bass, along with the far more exotic Native American flute, clay drums, didgeridoo and even Kargyraa throat singing, the album exudes a warm, full-bodied ebb and flow, atypical of self-contained projects. Yet as much as he enjoys playing all the instruments, crafting this multi-genre, often idiosyncratic music and defining his vision, Gaudious thrives on musical interaction. “I want to do more with other players. You can hear it on my CD. I miss the camaraderie and writing with musicians. That’s when synergy happens, and it’s great.”

Dominic Gaudious plays his CD release at the Red Light Cafe Sat., June 28, and plays the Variety Playhouse Sun., June 29. $10 and $17.50.