Garth Stevenson

Garth Stevenson’s got this wild, untamed approach to making music. He’s a New Yorker now, but he grew up surrounded by the mountains out in Western Canada, soaking in forests, rivers, probably a few grizzly bears here and there. That kind of upbringing seeps into his work, which is honestly why his stuff doesn’t sound like anyone else’s. The guy drags his antique double bass – yeah, it’s 160 years old, no big deal – out to places most of us have only seen in National Geographic: Antarctica, Tuva, you name it. He’s dropped three albums inspired by his wanderings: Flying, Voyage, and Alpine. Not to mention, he’s laid down bass lines for over 50 other artists’ records. Clearly not just sitting in a studio all day. He’s said himself, those solo jam sessions in the wild are where his sound really grows. Half the time, the adventure just getting to the spot is as much a part of the music as the notes themselves. Like, you don’t just stumble into a forest, get lost, run into a moose, and then not have that creep into your melodies. Stevenson’s also been deep in the film world. He’s teamed up with director John Curran twice, once for Chappaquiddick (that Ted Kennedy scandal movie), and before that, the Aussie outback story Tracks. He’s brought haunting sounds to Red Knot, scored the documentary Young Lakota, and handled the music for Ten Thousand Saints and the Sundance hit Them That Follow. Lately, he worked on Val, that raw documentary about Val Kilmer, which actually got its premiere at Cannes. This guy’s music isn’t just background noise; it’s got stories baked right in.