An end to festivities: Candi Staton is one of Triptych’s final guestsNext month’s Triptych Festival will be the eighth and last. There’s an undeniable twinge of loss; since 2001 Triptych has specialised in bringing established pioneers and contemporary adventurers to Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow, often for unusual, one-off gigs.Past visitors have included Jimmy Cliff, Phillip Glass, Grace Jones, Aphex Twin, Terry Riley and Ute Lemper, while in 2004 – the year the festival expanded from three to five days – there was even a stop-over by late electronic music grandaddy Dr Robert Moog.By comparison, the 2008 programme is a relatively tame affair. Though the final party at Glasgow’s Arches on Apr 27 is a flurry of big names, some might find the rest of the fest (now scaled back to its original three days) a little flat.That’s not to say there aren’t highlights – there are, including screenings of Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai with a Q & A from Wu-Tang chief RZA, who wrote the score and who also plays in his Bobby Digital guise.More specifically – and unusually for Triptych – there’s no sense of coup, no wow. Many of the most celebrated names are (albeit welcome) returners, such as Southern soul first lady Candi Staton, improv collective The Bays and funk bro Jamie Lidell while perhaps the most notable first timer is David Longstreth’s maverick Dirty Projectors outfit.Tennent’s will soon announce details of a new project, The Tennent’s Mutual , which looks set to involve fans in shaping gigs. For now, let’s wave Triptych a fond adieu.