The String Contingent’s music melds the raw wildness of Scottish folk, the organic dynamism of American bluegrass and the refined acoustic sensibility of the classical string trio. Chris Stone (violin), Graham McLeod (guitar) and Holly Downes (double bass) play a collection of original acoustic music that draws on influences and energy from all the above…. and more!.
The results showcase the young group’s superb musicianship, Graham’s thoughtful picking providing the secure backbone on which Chris might explore sounds alternately tender or wildly yowling (Warren Ellis eat your heart out), while the melodic potential of the double bass is deftly revealed under Holly’s sure fingers. Meanwhile, the songs themselves indicate a store of thoughtfully accumulated youthful wisdom and an ebullient joy in the contingent possibilities of life.
