There’s an honesty to South African singer-songwriter Steve Louw’s music that hits listeners straight in the heart.
On his latest album, Traces Of The Flood, he’s mixing elements of folk, country and classic rock using tones that will have just about any fan of guitar music grinning from ear to ear.
And with long-time collaborator Kevin Shirley (Joe Bonamassa, Aerosmith, Iron Maiden) once again sat behind the desk, these minimalistic songs sound bigger and bolder than the simple chords at their core.
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Triple Threat
Ask Steve Louw what makes this record different from the others across his four-decade long career and he’ll tell you a lot of it comes down to the addition of a third guitarist.
“Adding Bob Britt into the band made a big difference,” says Steve. “His friend Doug Lancio has been on my last three albums; they’re great friends and have played together in Bob Dylan’s touring band. I saw them in Memphis and loved the interaction between them. Their chemistry affected all of us in this band.”
Unplugged Victory
It’s not often you’ll hear a song with three guitarists all playing acoustic, but that’s exactly what happened on standout track Echo Dream.
“We played it a couple of times on electric, but it wasn’t working,” admits Steve. “So I said to Kevin, ‘Let’s do it with three acoustic guitars.’ He looked at me a bit strangely but gave it a go. The other musicians started adding extra touches.
“Then I asked Bob to do something electric in a Mick Taylor style and he played this beautiful line. You’re hearing three acoustics and a 1956 Strat. It ended up being one of the best-sounding tracks on the album.”
Vintage Mojo
As it happens, the 1956 Strat wasn’t the only golden-era guitar used on the album.
“Bob was playing a 1956 Les Paul Junior on the song Angeline, while Doug was playing mandolin,” adds Steve. “Bob has an original ’60s Princeton. A lot of the album was the Junior going into that. Doug has some interesting and quirky guitars like his Harmony Rocket and there was an Epiphone Casino in the mix, too.
“We also rented a beautiful 335 12-string from 1966, which you can hear on songs like Time To Move. I mainly played my Gibson J-45. It’s a 2015 reissue with a darkish sound that really works for me.”
Like A Rolling Stone
Bob Dylan’s influence on Louw stretches far beyond the personnel heard on this latest release.
“Bob’s a genius,” he says, “a brilliant musician and storyteller. He keeps reinventing himself in unique ways. He knows what sound he wants and always manages to find it. He’s more than a writer; he’s a leader who knows how to get the best out of people.
“Songs like Tangled Up In Blue are extra special. It has such a great story and rhythm to it. The story is quite long, but the structure is simple, taking you right into the lyrics. Translating the journey of the subject through music is so mystical to me.”
Featuring JoBo
The Kevin Shirley connection led to Joe Bonamassa appearing on three of Steve’s most recent albums.
“Me and Kevin started working together early on,” says Steve. “We both had bands in Cape Town and made our first record together in 1986. Much later on he introduced me to Joe, who played this beautiful solo on Wind In Your Hair from my 2021 album, Headlight Dreams.
“Then he played on the track Mother, Don’t Go from my next album [Thunder And Rain, 2022], and Cruel Hand Of Fate from my last album [Between Time, 2024], using his Fender B-Bender Telecaster. It’s been a privilege to have him elevating my songs because he’s a musical genius.”
Why the Electro-Harmonix Wiggler Tube Vibrato/Tremolo is his favourite pedal
“I love how it’s got a valve in it. You can get a really nice Leslie tone. I don’t use it on stage because it’s hard to travel with. But I just love how it sounds. It reminds me of how Robbie Robertson from The Band sounded on Music From Big Pink.”
“Back in those days a lot of guitar players were plugging straight into the Leslie, which brings this amazing kind of movement and modulation.”
