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Talented bass player builds his cinematic songs from the ground up.
The role of bassist in a band doesn't conventionally get quite as much stick as that of drummer (cue jokes of the "What do you call someone who hangs around with musicians?" variety), but is nonetheless rarely credited with much more than rhythmic anchoring or emphasis.
In traditional music, however, with its myriad, deceptively demanding metrical nuances, bass players with the finesse to lift and enhance - rather than weigh down and deaden - a tune or song are rare and highly prized: hence Duncan Lyall, who opens this year's series of New Voices commissions at Celtic Connections, is a very busy man.
Raised in Dunblane and now based in Glasgow, where he graduated from Strathclyde University's Applied Music degree course in 2001, Lyall - most often seen on double bass, though he also plays bass guitar - is currently a member of Treacherous Orchestra and Box Club, and works regularly with such...