Formed in Cardiff in 2013 Slowly Rolling Camera brought
together four wildly talented musicians from diverse backgrounds. The result
was a captivating hybrid of these influences: trip hop, jazz, soul, electronic
music fused into a new and unique soundscape. The product was their eponymous
album, released on Edition Records in February 2014 and received ecstatically
by press (including UK’s Guardian and Germany’s Stern Magazine) and audiences
alike.
Live, they’ve proved a phenomenon, wowing audiences from Cardiff
to Hamburg and at high profile festivals including Umea Jazz Festival (SE),
Love Supreme (UK), London Jazz Festival (UK) and Reeperbahn Festival (DE).
SRC have spent 2014 honing their music on the road and have
recently returned to the studio to record a bold and striking four track EP,
Into The Shadow, for release on 26th January 2015. Into The Shadow is more
cohesive and sees the band further develop their sound, integrating lush
electronic soundscapes, emotive melodies, shifts in dynamic and pace. With
Elliot Bennett’s virtuosic, robust groove and Robert’s exemplary production
techniques, it provides the perfect setting for the captivating, soulful voice
of Dionne Bennett to impressively mould he lyrics around the musical
arrangement.
In order to capture the spirit and energy of the band the EP
was written and recorded in only three months. Employing the creative spirit
and boundless energies of Mancunian master guitarist Stuart McCallum (Cinematic
Orchestra), Bristol based Ben Waghorn on sax and Aidan Thorne, Cardiff’s top
double bassist, Slowly Rolling Camera’s new recording has a big sound and big
ambitions to match.
The suite-like opener River’s End, a song about asking for
forgiveness, introduces a powerful and emotive ambience from the off. The title
track, with its gloriously empowering crescendo and sweet sound of Dave
Stapleton’s string arrangements, remarks on how the power of love can transform
loneliness. Anne leads us through hope to regret with a beautifully raw and
emotive stripped down arrangement featuring Fender Rhodes and Bennett’s
intimate vocal set against a wall of strings and choral voices. The final
track, Riga, forms a satisfying conclusion, its odd time signatures, shifting
patterns, beats, grooves and moods defining everything that’s great about this
band: bold, brave, experimental but with deep soul.
These four tracks confirm that SRC’s promise is no transient
thing and indicates progression on a steep curve. ‘Into The Shadow’ continues
to push the musical boundaries and there can only be excitement at where this
young, immensely talented outfit can go next. But they remain rooted, however
vaunting the ambition. As the band say: “If it moves you, it’s just good
music”.
~ Edition Records
No comments:
Post a Comment