Sam Grassie, Dylan Fowler & Haroun Iqbal (sco-wal-bel)

Three guitarists, three completely different paths

Sam Grassie, who grew up in Glasgow and now lives in London, was described by the Bert Jansch Foundation as one of the finest folk guitarists of his generation — his debut EP Sandwood (2024) blends Celtic melody with desert blues rhythms.

"One of the finest folk guitarists of his generation." — Bert Jansch Foundation

Dylan Fowler was born in Tripoli (Libya) in 1956, grew up in South Wales and over forty years has built a body of work that combines Celtic tradition with European jazz, Balkan and Scandinavian influences. He once worked as a music therapist for people with disabilities, founded the Welsh-Finnish trio Taith, and besides the guitar also plays the tabwrdd — a centuries-old North Welsh drum.

"Music with heart, soul, and a bullish determination to ignore recognised boundaries." — Chris Jones, BBC

Haroun Iqbal, from Flanders, came to the guitar by a roundabout route: first jazz and classical, then West African kora music (through the Senegalese kora player Bao Sisokko), and finally the Indian raga tradition, which he learned from the Pakistani sarod player Asad Qizilbash. In 2025 Klara selected him for De Twintigers. Three completely different schools, one evening, one guitar reinvented again and again.

"A guitarist who effortlessly pushes back every musical boundary." — Klara