True North

Ten years ago, Phillip Henry (best known as one half of the award-winning Devon folk duo, Edgelarks, with Hannah Martin) left England for Kolkata to learn the mysteries of the slide guitar from India's finest exponent of the instrument, Debashish Bhattacharya. This solo release is his testament to a decade of discovering the instrument's soul among musicians far and wide.

It is a pure solo record in that Henry is the sole musician, playing a mesmerising spread of strings from National and Weissenborn guitars to the dobro and the chaturangui – a 22-string slide guitar invented by Bhattacharya. The result is a subtle, gentle, brooding album of delicately plucked instrumentals interspersed with softly sung songs of the road. This is a reflection on a decade of touring the world, with music inspired by the large, elemental landscapes of Australia, Canada and India, as well as the wilder fringes of England. Harp-like chaturangui Indian classical meditations segue into blues standards, folk and country longing. There are contemporary covers of Tim Edey, Tim O'Brien, and a soaring, unexpected take on Paul Oakenfold's 90s dance anthem, ‘Not Over Yet’. Play this and slip into a slide guitar reverie.