Ear-bending dropped tuned grooves, eerie moods, dark jazz textures, explosive guitar percussion. Yeah, I’m not entirely sure what all that means either but, whatever, it all adds up to something rather wonderful in the form of Chris Woods Groove, a percussive guitarist from Bushey, who is playing at Silencio folk club this weekend.

So what exactly is percussive guitar?

“It’s a way of playing guitar in a more percussive way,“ laughs Chris, director of contemporary music at Northwood Prep in Rickmansworth.

“The guitar is like a big drum, really, a big wooden box, and if you hit it, it makes sounds.“ Chris composes and performs instrumental pieces that don’t neatly fit into categories such as jazz or folk.

“Everything’s quite rich,“ he explains, “it’s not basic chord sequences, it’s got harmonies and stuff.“

Chris developed his style while experimenting with his guitar playing at university, and honed his skills performing at prestigious guitar festivals around the world. He was approached at one such festival in LA by Hal Leonard, the world’s largest print music publisher, to write a guide on the percussive style and how to play it, and he is now internationally well-regarded.

On Saturday, at Silencio, Chris will be performing tracks from his album, Stories for Solo Guitar, and EP, Woodcraft.

“There’s lots of stories behind each tune,“ says Chris, “so it will be a bit of an experience, I hope.“