Modern blues loops

I love R.L. Burnside’s raw blues power. If you’ve never heard anything from the man, well I’ll tell you it’s not as authentic as you might think. Mainly because drumloops, scratching, synths and modern editing techniques are used. But man, what a cool combination that is!

Today I was listening to Burnside’s latests CD ‘A Bothered Mind’ (see Amazon ad down below). An inspirational experience I can tell you!

The way Burnside’s voice is mixed with modern sounds is just great. The guitars are dirty and Burnside’s voice has this ‘voodoo vibe’ which is just super. I am sure most people won’t notice that drumloops and synths are used because the overall feel truly offers a fresh breeze of soul power!

You could say it’s a mix between blues and hiphop.

On some of the tracks several drumloops are layered on top of each other. The timing is not perfect, but the tension adds rawness to the music. Different sounding loops are used for things like breaks. So all sorts of drumsounds are mixed together. It reminds me of James Brown’s double rhythm section (yes, 2 drummers that is).

I know many people prefer not to use loops. They like to play everything by themselves. Sure, I’ll understand this, but when you’re in a band your drummer will create his own pattern and will probably do it in a way you would never have thought about yourself. Adding loops can create the same sort of tension you get when playing with other players. It’s adding different colors to your palette. So why not use them?

Stay sharp for some more interesting news about using loops in the near future!