Steve Strong – Ghost Writing For Kano (2016)

‘I’m just going to make it up as I go along.’

Those are the words of Steve Strong, not one month ago, before recording his new EP, Ghost Writing For Kano. The idea was to write, record and release something spontaneously and, after two days of making it up in the studio with Thomas Le Beau Morley (Delta Sleep, TTNG, Quadrilles), the results are some furious tunes.

Steve is a solo artist and his characteristic sounds are dreamy, tappy guitar loops that layer harmonics and long delayed notes with overlapping melodies that flesh out the structure of his music; and tight drum beats that he plays on top. These traits are still prominent on this EP (‘Elephant Gymnastics’ is super catchy), but it also delves into more distorted, dissonant territory. There’s a punch to it that’s lively and in your face.

Each track has it’s own mood, shifting between ballsy, groovy and twinkly, but the opening riffs on the first one are quite a fist-clenching, teeth-gritting affair. It’s a potent record. Even the more chilled out interlude (which is actually a loop he has been using to jam on at gigs for a while) has some crazy free jazz drumming going on. I’m curious to see how Steve ends up playing the other songs live as they can sometimes change significantly due to the logistics of being a one-man-band.