Graeme Stephen
Tilt
(own label)
The writing on the cover is a bit of scrawl, making at least a couple of the track titles guesswork. But the contents of guitarist Graeme Stephen's latest album offer further evidence of his mastery of sound, melody and feeling. There is much that would be filed under tone poetry here, as Stephen engages foot pedals and the parts of strings that don't normally figure in guitarists' output in search of a means of expression. Yet even at its most oblique, Tilt has an emotive appeal, and when Stephen and saxophonist Julian Arguelles hit upon the opening track Islay's ecstatic theme, it's like having your armchair transformed into a jet ski. Drummer Chris Wallace and bassist Mario Caribe contribute crisp, rhythmical heft as the music flows between sonic enquiry (aided by superimposed conversations in places) and sheer soulful melodiousness that draws on both the folk and jazz traditions. On The Journey Home, this effects a marvellously hypnotic sense of weary elation.
Rob Adams
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article