TS035

Tingling skin, buzzing wires
Stephen Godsall

releases February 26, 2026
PRE_ORDER on BANDCAMP

STEPHEN GODSALL - TINGLING SKIN, BUZZING WIRES

1. Erratic
2. Helium
3. Deciduous, featuring Ian Ellis
4. Outside, featuring Laura Taylor
5. Welsh Highland
6. Hitting the small time
7. The last hillwalker, featuring Steve Waterman
8. The Force
9. Forest Fugue
10. Beacons
11. Sea song
12. Birthday yodel

“Tingling skin, buzzing wires” is banjo unchained

Stephen Godsall's new album drives the banjo kicking and screaming into new territory, miles away from its traditional roles in bluegrass, jazz and traditional music. Each track has different tone combinations – banjo alongside flugelhorn, Wurlitzer piano, piccolo, Hammond organ, tenor sax and more. Rhythms are striking, with shifting tempos and time signatures alongside crazy syncopation. There are driving, riff driven tunes alongside dreamy ambience, with a mix of pungent and lush harmonies to match.

Composer and multi instrumentalist Godsall explains: “When I've wanted to highlight a melody in a new piece, I've been drawn increasingly to the banjo. The clangorous tones, rhythmic incisiveness and relative unfamiliarity give it a stand-out character. It seems to me that banjo is very underused in modern jazz and improvised music, particularly in Europe. And it's very expressive – different tones, articulations and string bends.”

Opening track “Erratic” is a trio for banjo, bass and hand percussion, introducing “sprung rhythm” which combines swing and tempo modulation. Electronics also open out the soundscape, with echo effects which shift pitch and speed as they fade away. “The last hillwalker” explores the melancholy of a changing world, through a spacious duet for banjo and flugelhorn, hauntingly played by guest Steve Waterman alongside some wide-angle “campanella” style arpeggios.

“Beacons” explodes the traditions of Welsh music with mountainous arpeggios and sitar-like sympathetic strings vibrating from the “tingling skin” of the banjo. “Welsh Highland” evokes the wheezing, clanking and moaning of a narrow gauge railway rolling through the hills, shifting speed and intensity as it navigates sharp bends. It's also a feast of counterpoint, with electronic bassoon, organ, bass, piccolo, metallic percussion and nylon strung guitar.

“Outside” features the core band of Stephen Godsall banjo, Richard Godsall piano/organ and Andrew Godsall drums, and guest vocalist Laura Taylor. It's a new take on the “Wuthering Heights” story; “Sometimes you have to step outside, to see which way the wind blows”.

“Deciduous” is another rhapsodic duet; Ian Ellis guests on tenor sax and plays the Autumnal theme before unleashing gusts of virtuosic improvisation on this one-take wonder. The final duet is “Sea song” for the surprisingly rare combination of banjo and ukulele banjo – free tempo and free improvisation evoke crashing waves and unpredictable voyages; this is no cruise ship!

“The Force” is a powerful track with drums and bass pitching 7/8 time against 4/4, while the banjo drives chiming chords over the top; imagine a cross between hip hop grooves and Hot Club jazz.

“Hitting the small time” has drums duelling with banjo, a collision of riffs, fills and Hendrix style chording with organ holding the whole thing together, and electronic spices creating another rare soundscape.

Returning to the more gentle acoustic combination of banjo, nylon guitar and ukulele, “Forest Fugue” explores the warm sonorities available from another unusual combination of instruments before accelerating into fugal counterpoint. Closing track “Birthday yodel” uses the same instruments with various yodelling techniques to finish with a jokey combination of traditional English and Austrian tunes.

The album includes extensive sleevenotes and artwork illustrating the story behind each track. 

Musicians:
Stephen Godsall, banjo, ukulele, guitar, bass, synths, percussion
Laura Taylor, vocal
Steve Waterman, flugelhorn
Ian Ellis, tenor sax
Richard Godsall, Wurlitzer piano, Hammond organ
Andrew Godsall, drums
Diane Annear, piccolo

All tracks composed and produced by Stephen Godsall