Slowly Rolling Camera: Flow

At first glance, it looks like an album they were always destined to make. Natural flow has been one central characteristic of Slowly Rolling Camera since the start. From their beginnings in quasi-trip-hop/jazztronica fusion, through a shift into a picturesque instrumental outfit, they have always been effortlessly fluid and comfortable with a good slow burn. They have seemed to be following a sort of elemental theme as well, with Juniper (Edition, 2018) setting down some earthy roots and Where the Streets Lead (Edition, 2021) taking flight and soaring through the air. This time, the work is all about water, and it gets closer to the band's organic heart than ever.

Rather than consisting of composed pieces, Flow was developed to accompany a short movie entitled River of Mirrors ("a kayak film unlike any other"), and so it was patiently grown to fill a particular space. These tracks tend to start around deceptively simple motifs and then rise and fall with the aplomb of nature itself. Josh Arcoleo is technically a guest but his graceful saxophone most often feels like the recording's lead voice. The others are pretty well content to gradually fill in the space with light brush strokes. Deri Roberts' production spins immersive atmospheres with Dave Stapleton's largely-ambient keys while Elliot Bennett continually keeps things coasting with percussive bubbles and splashes. The strokes of backing color from Stuart McCallum's guitar and Verneri Pohjola's trumpet likewise provide the subtle kind of shadings which underline rather than accent.

Flow keeps the group's trademark sweeping scope, albeit at a more intimate scale than before, gradually building its quiet drama into the pieces' own structures with an expert use of soft and loud. "River View" sets a dreamy vista, "Mist" turns things soft and ghostly and, by the late pairing of "Flow" and "Elevated," they have swelled to a buoyant peak which feels like the sound of summer itself. It is a beautifully immersive experience to soak in through every smooth shift and turn.