The Slowlight Quartet @ Immediate Audio, Newcastle - Feb. 11

Tom Quilliam (soprano sax, tenor sax, baritone sax); Paul Loraine (keyboards); Ian 'Dodge' Paterson (bass, synth); John Hirst (drums) + YVA (vocals); Athol Cassidy (guitar); Liam Gaughan (studio recording engineer)  

This was something different. Tucked away in a corner of the Ouseburn on a rundown industrial estate lies a recording studio. The first of four performances over the course of the weekend by the recently reformed Slowlight Quartet, this Saturday afternoon recording session is slated to be part of a forthcoming 'live' album. For this project, the Slowlights - Tom Quilliam, Paul Loraine, Ian 'Dodge' Paterson and recent recruit John Hirst - were augmented by vocalist YVA and guitarist Ath 'Athol' Cassidy. 

The studio is best described as 'homely', a 'mix-and-match' selection of chairs, carpets and rugs on the floor with an adjacent small kitchen (help yourself to a beer, coffee etc) and loo. The hardware/software is, no doubt, high end stuff. Looking after all of it, the familiar figure of Liam Gaughan. As the select audience made its way into the studio, headphones were issued to one and all. As the instruments were being fed into the desk, without the cans it wouldn't be possible to hear anything other than Tom Quilliams' reeds and John Hirst's kit. We were encouraged to make some noise, applause most definitely the order of the day.

During the course of the following ninety minutes or so the Slowlights would unveil a raft of new material (pianist Paul Loraine the composer). Note, the following song titles are 'best guess' (corrections welcome). The Slowlights' music has been described as 'cinematic' (sweeping arc etc) and that's as good as any, however with the addition of YVA's vocals (aka Amy Holford) there is an element of 'nu soul' or 'neo soul', call it what you will. Firmament, One Day at a Time, both featuring YVA, made for a good start. Bassist Ian Paterson switching between bass guitars and synth, Tom Quilliam alternately blowing soprano, tenor and baritone saxophones, Loraine discreetly directing/overseeing matters suggested many hours of rehearsal time has honed the material and these sessions were simply about laying it down.  

Guitarist Ath Cassidy shone on the bluesy Elated, Granite Boy tore it up, Quilliam and Hirst trading on a groove, the cans came off to listen to the exchange 'acoustically', as it were, Hirst taking it out in some style. Lullaby (for the end of the world) is a recent release and we heard it on this first of four sessions. The Slowlight Quartet's forthcoming album release is one to look out for and it's odds on gigs are in the offing. Russell