“it ’s cool to hear your influences coming out organically”

Album: New Light (Big Sun Records)

PETER GILES

Inspiring the wider music world…

The month’s best guitar music – a hand-picked selection of the finest fretwork on wax

Born in the titular Kent city in the late 60s, the Canterbury scene spawned some of prog’s most creative and quirky acts. From The Wilde Flowers and Soft Machine to Caravan and Gong, each had a distinctive sound and, in many cases, image that captured the hearts and minds of their followers. But the scene’s impact didn’t end in the 70s. Phil Howitt, Facelift editor and Hugh Hopper’s biographer, explores the new breed of progressive acts inspired by it, both consciously and unwittingly, and unearths the secrets of the ‘Canterbury chord’.

Returning with an album of man-and-guitar Dylan covers, the Eurythmics legend’s playing has never been laid so bare. He tells us about gigging folk clubs underage, the blues in his palette, and a memorable night on the tiles with Robert Zimmerman himself