ANDRES ROOTS – Vol. 12 / Roots Art Records, 2023 / CD, Dig / instrumental blues, Mississippi Delta blues / Estonia
Andres Roots is blues musician from Tartu, Estonia. He is listed in the book “100 Years of Estonian Music”” as the country’s “internationally best-known player of pure blues“. Andres Roots is a slide guitarist who has performed everywhere – from Clarksdale, Mississippi to Hell, Norway. In 2016, his “Roots Music” LP topped the official Estonian album chart – the first and only time a blues album has claimed the #1 spot in the Baltics. With his music, Andres crossed borders of Estonia providing musical shows all over the Europe.
Discography – Andres Roots & Red Mouth – Right Across the Hill ; Andres Roots – Tartu Lockdown (The House Arrest EPs) ; Andres Roots – Mississippi to Loch Lomond ; Andres Roots – Breakfast in September ; Sawmill Roots Orchestra – Mono ; Andres Roots – Winter ; Andres Roots – Trad.alt.blues ; Andres Roots – Three! ; Andres Roots – Leigh’s Spider Jam ; Andres Roots – Roundabout ; Andres Roots – Waiting Around ; Andres Roots – Tartu Lockdown (The House Arrest EPs) – (House Arrest EP ; House Arrest 2 EP ; House Arrest 3) (Roots Music, 2020) ; Andres Roots – Vol. 12 (Roots Art Records, 2023)
Guitar & music by – Andres Roots
The album includes: six acoustic tracks recorded in 2022, six acoustic tracks from the 2021 CD EP “Afternoon” that made #15 in the Independent Blues Broadcasters Association‘s monthly airplay chart in the UK and #16 in the Collectif des Radios Blues airplay chart in France, and two electric tracks from the 2019 7-inch EP “Waiting Around“.
Born in Estonia, with his musical affinity, which is the blues, Andres Roots, thanks to the quality of his artistic and authorial expression, has long crossed the borders of his native country. By a strange play of fate, he became the focus of my interest. I have been following Andres Roots since the time (2003-2010) when he performed in the trio Bullfrog Brown (Alar Kriisa – vocals, harmonica ; Andres Roots – slide guitar, percussion ; Peeter Piik – double bass, bass guitar, mandolin, percussion instruments). I have already presented several of his discography releases on the pages of the Barikada – World of Music website or played his music on my radio shows, so far. Well deserved, of course.
Although the music collected on this album was created between 2019 and 2023, it has retained stylistic and performer coherence. With each of his albums, Andres Roots is innovative, interesting and unique. With great experience and enviable guitar playing technique, his sound is equal to the biggest names from the world blues scene. This is the reason why I look forward to each of his new releases with great impatience.
I wish Andres further inspiration and motivation to give us valuable blues achievements in the future. It is his to create and ours to enjoy.
Andres Roots – “Vol. 12” – 1. So It Is, Subhuti ; 2. Sunstroke ; 3. Starbuck Theme ; 4. Dromedary ; 5. Birdsong Thing ; 6. Hawk’s Out with His Axe ; 7. Picnic at Dockery’s ; 8. Bye Bye Berry ; 9. Blues on Green ; 10. Years Past Midnight ; 11. Waiting Around ; 12. Western of the Month ; 13. Yuletide Blues ; 14. Sherwood
Photo – Siim Neerut
https://www.facebook.com/andres.roots / http://www.andresroots.com / https://andresroots.bandcamp.com/album/vol-12 /
YT – Andres Roots – Bye Bye Berry
