You’ve never heard the dulcimer quite like this. Sam Edelston lets the instrument take the lead in his debut classic rock album, Making Waves.

By Graeme Smith

Making Waves is unique in that it’s the first album to feature the dulcimer as a leading instrument in a classic rock setting. The dulcimer is an instrument in the zither family which originates from the Appalachian region of the United States. Sam’s not the first to introduce it to popular music – The Rolling Stones have recorded with it, as has Joni Mitchell, R.E.M. and Cyndi Lauper – yet none have put it front and centre in the same way.

Sam gets a lot out of an instrument with only three strings, showing us its range and versatility over fifteen tracks. He applies the instrument to covers of some of the best-known tracks in the rock genre, including The Rolling Stones, Queen, The Beatles, Chicago, Blondie, Motörhead, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Diamond, Paul Simon, and Brandi Carlile.

The album also includes two originals written or co-written by Sam. There’s a charm that runs through both his original compositions as well as his takes on the classics, with his vocals and the voice of others giving us plenty of charisma on top of the lively string strumming.

If you like your rock tinged with a layer of folk, and want to hear something you’ve never heard before, then you need to check out Edelston and his dulcimer.

Making Waves is out now and you can give it a listen below.