NEW acoustic trio The String Contingent will be visiting Candelo to tour their genre-bending new album, Facets.
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Australians Chris Stone on violin and Holly Downes on double bass with Scotsman Graham McLeod on guitar have created an album that uses many renowned supporting musicians to create their sound.
Facets features internationally-lauded recorder player Genevieve Lacey, saxophonist Sandy Evans, the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s ARIA award winning cellist Julian Thompson, ABC recording and ARIA winning artists Chris Duncan and Catherine Strutt as well as the crazy genius of instrument inventor Linsey Pollak.
“It was a new thing to collaborate with other artists,” Stone said.
“We found new ways to play and it reminded us why we get excited to play music.”
When jamming with his trio and the supporting musicians, Stone said the music would often grow from a small melody.
The writing was often a very fast process, he said.
For example, when it came to the song they wanted to write with Pollak, the trio paid for him to fly to Sydney then they spent two hours meeting each other and composing before they later recorded it.
This left them with a “very fresh, very raw” piece.
“It was very different to how we have written in the past,” Stone said.
The album seamlessly shifts through baroque, classical, jazz, Indian, Celtic and Balkan elements to create a truly contemporary sound, complimenting The String Contingent’s musical backgrounds in Celtic folk, classical and jazz.
On Thursday, Stone said the contingent just arrived back from three months touring in Europe where they had been playing at festivals over summer.
They have never been to Candelo before, but have often been told they should visit.
The String Contingent will perform at Candelo Town Hall on Friday, November 6 at 8pm.
Tickets are $20, $15 concession with supper provided.
Contact info@cas.org.au for bookings.