“Paul Simon told me what key the song was in, turned off the vocal track and counted me in”: He’s been sampled by Kanye West, and played with Paul Simon, The Black Keys and Tame Impala – yet Delicate Steve is still the best-kept secret in indie guitar

Delicate Steve.

Saying a guitarist has their own voice on the instrument is the highest form of praise. Delicate Steve – sideman extraordinaire to the likes of Tame Impala, The Black Keys and Yeasayer – has long been admired for the voice he’s developed, but remains perhaps the best-kept secret in indie guitar.

He’s blazed a haphazard, unpredictable and twisting trail through a swathe of pop culture, being recruited by Paul Simon to play haunting slide on The Werewolf, collaborating with Miley Cyrus and Shawn Everett on Used to be Young, and being sampled multiple times by Kanye West.