Dave Stapleton Keyboards / Composer

Elliot Bennett Drums

Deri Roberts Electronics

Stuart McCallum Guitar

Aidan Thorne Double Bass

Mark Lockheart Saxophone

Nicolas Kummert Saxophone

Guest Personnel

Tom Barford Saxophone

James Copus Trumpet

Sam Glaser Alto Saxophone

Juniper is the emphatic and uplifting third album from Cardiff based Slowly Rolling Camera and their strongest and most impactful statement yet. Masterminded by Edition label boss Dave Stapleton, producer Deri Roberts and drummer Elliot Bennett, Juniper fuses expansive jazz grooves with rich cinematic soundscapes marking the beginning of a new era for the group, anchoring new instrumental roots whilst bringing together a dynamic instrumental team of ex-Cinematic Orchestra guitarist Stuart McCallum, bassist Aidan Thorne and Belgian saxophonist Nicolas Kummert. With Juniper the band have returned to the original vision of their instrumental roots and the result is vibrant, bold and excitingly fresh.

The new music sustains their lush aural trajectory, evoking comparisons with the Cinematic Orchestra, blending strong melodies, big grooves and surprising turns of phrase, instilled with an expansive emotional gravitas. Colliding worlds of jazz, trip-hop and cinematic soundscapes, this music is a rich culmination of 15 years of friendship and making music together.

As Stapleton explains: ‘Originally, the band formed as an instrumental led project, merging progressive jazz beats with a more cinematic and produced sensibility. What emerged was something totally unexpected and epic, shaping the music and production more and more around Dionne Bennett’s expansive and rich vocal. However, for this new album, we wanted to re-ignite that early vision whilst retaining those production values. This album draws on all the musical and personal experiences we’ve had over the last 15 years, whilst engaging audiences with a blend of strong melodies, rhythmical hooks and improvisation. Without those earlier experiments and the first few albums this would’ve never happened’.

At the heart of the band and the album is the keyboards of Dave Stapleton, the drumming of Elliot Bennett and the production of Deri Roberts. With a history of working together since they met at music college in Cardiff 15 years ago, the trio share a vision but bring together a diverse and unique set of influences. It’s this combination and blend that provides the backbone to their bold soundworld.

The path is now set for a new wave of exploration for the band. Juniper is epic in conception and uplifting in spirit, based on the idea the their music is the culmination of diverse influences into one unified sound.

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