Graeme Stephen with Zapp4, Outhouse, Edinburgh
Rob Adams FOUR STARS
It won't be every string quartet score that calls for the violist to drum on his thighs, scrape his feet on the floor and sing Indian percussion syllables. These and more conventional string players' techniques all contributed to the success of guitarist Graeme Stephen's first venture into composing for Amsterdam-based ensemble Zapp4.
Stephen has incorporated cello into his music before, when he invited the impressive, improvising Ben Davis into his group, so he has some form, and it was noticeable here that, as well as letting the Dutch players express their formidable personalities and technical command, he had created pieces that were very much in his own style, compositionally and emotionally.
Two movements of his soundtrack for the black and white classic Sunrise, beautifully re-scored, formed a kind of bridge between the familiar and the new and the pieces from the album Stephen has recently recorded with Zapp4, Distances, showed a similar ability to articulate drama and narrative and to project profound images, even if they're given almost throwaway introductions.
Zapp4 can all riff, groove and improvise like jazz musicians and their use of pizzicato motifs, shimmering tremolo effects and volume variations both allowed the focus to fall on Stephen's liquid, electronically enhanced lines and worked in tandem with the guitar to create energy, as witness the windswept, at times hectic Eigg, and atmosphere, as on the reflective Distances itself.
If there was an occasional becalmed moment, then the super-animated, extended violin solos, cello playing that ranged from soft whistling harmonics to real drive and melodic invention and a real feeling of togetherness made this a partnership that deserves to prosper.
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