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There are guitarists who you would describe as unique because of small quirks: perhaps a distinctive vibrato, or their use of certain pedals. And there are those players who are actually singular in their approach to the instrument. Sam Eastgate of LA Priest is very much in the latter camp.

Surrounded by a wall of self-built pedals, DIY synth gear (most notably his drum machine GENE) and a ’60s PA he dug out of a dumpster, his playing lies at the nexus of synth and guitar, celebrating the anarchic qualities of both instruments – the two greatest democratizing and experimental innovations of 20th century music. At the heart of it all is his original, paint-covered Watkins Rapier – an early UK , widely regarded as “a piece of shit” by anyone else who plays it – strung with a in the place of the low E. It is also a metaphor for an idiosyncratic, rattling and organic musical approach that, like the guitar itself, seems like it could fall to bits at any moment.



Ultimately, as Eastgate tells us, the beauty of playing the guitar is that it’s always unique, no matter how disciplined you are, but here is a player who lives on the edge – of his playing and tonal capabilities, the ability of his gear and, as an observer, the edge of your seat...

“I think I've always thought of it technically. But then when it comes to playing, it's just expression. I'm not a technical player – I've got quite short fingers, for one thing – and everything that I want to do doesn't co.

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