Recording of the Week, Slowly Rolling Camera, 'Where the Streets Lead'

Slowly Rolling Camera is the project of Edition Records founder and pianist Dave Stapleton, who founded the band in Cardiff back in 2013. The group’s initial lineup included Stapleton on piano alongside percussionist Elliott Bennett and electronic musician and sound designer Deri Roberts, with vocalist Dionne Bennett effectively fronting the band (she’s even depicted on the cover of their second album). With Dionne leaving the band following All Things, 2018’s Juniper was a totally instrumental record, focussing on the cinematic sounds the group was already experimenting with. Their latest album is another instrumental affair, save for one track in the latter half of the proceedings - Where the Streets Lead continues to develop Slowly Rolling Camera’s new aesthetic carrying on from Juniper, further exploring the textural aspects of their sound. Stapleton and co. have always been enamoured with the sounds of trip-hop and electronica - although the group have never quite jumped head-first into the genre, whatever the trio take from the classic 90s sound finds its form on Where the Streets Lead as electronic textures, some moments more subtle than others. You wouldn’t find Bennett’s shuffling beats on a Massive Attack record, but the amped-up tempos give the pieces a sense of urgency and welcome dynamics.

Besides the core trio of Stapleton, Roberts and Bennett, Slowly Rolling Camera are joined by an eight-piece string section as well as a handful of guest stars from the Edition Records roster; vocalist Sachal Vasandani offers his lyrics and voice to the track ‘Illuminate’, and saxophonist Chris Potter also takes a guest spot on ‘The Afternoon of Human Life’, while regular collaborator and electric guitarist Stuart McCallum makes several appearances throughout the record, either snatching the spotlight from the core trio for a buttery guitar solo or acting as another voice amongst the group’s extended roster of musicians. The trio certainly get their money’s worth with this eight-piece string section in question, who appear on every track on the album; Stapleton’s string arrangements are kept relatively tasteful, never overpowering the core trio themselves, while also a perfect addition to this concoction of electronic-infused cinematic ‘jazz’ without tipping the music into potentially cheap-sounding territory.

Besides the traditional piano, Stapleton also makes ample use of his Rhodes keyboard on this album, as well as his Moog and Prophet synthesisers. The Rhodes in particular acts as the perfect choice for some of the more low-key moments on the record, its distinctively warm tones providing the ideal accompaniment to Vasandi’s vocals on ‘Illuminate’, for example. Sizzling pads of synthesisers form the body of tracks like ‘The Afternoon of Human Life’, while also blending ever-so cleanly into the string section on the closer ‘A Force for Good’. I would be remiss not to mention the contribution of saxophonist Mark Lockheart, who offers up both his tenor and soprano sounds throughout the record; despite not being as much of a known player as Potter, he certainly knows how to command his sax to fit the mood, and is the icing on the cake to these instrumental pieces when he’s given his time to shine.

True to their cinematic style, much of the material on Where the Streets Lead follows a typical post-rock-esque structure with a slowly unfurling introductory passage, before the piece kicks up for an energetic mid-section, ultimately closing on a climactic finish. To keep things fresh, there are some curveballs here and there, and the record just manages to steer clear of the predictability so many albums in its style fall into. Despite being a trio at its core, the new iteration of Slowly Rolling Camera is just as much about their collaborators as it is about Stapleton, Roberts and Bennett; their stable of guest artists are what really make Where the Streets Lead a properly enveloping record. Slowly Rolling Camera shoot for a cinematic experience, and for the most part they stick the landing - their second crack at a (for the most part) purely instrumental effort enables them to further hone their new identity.