WOMAD

Michael Messer

From United Kingdom

Biography taken from www.michaelmesser.co.uk, March 2004:Virtuoso slide guitarist & roots music innovator, Michael Messer, has seen his profile sharply in the ascent since the highly acclaimed King Guitar album was released on Catfish in March 2001. One prominent American reviewer described him as “an unavoidable force in modern blues” and commented that “King Guitar has met a new century with style, grace, and a new, colourful direction for the music”. In May 2001 King Guitar reached number one in the American "Living Blues" chart and was the most played blues album on US college radio, which for a British artist is exceptional.  Since the release of Second Mind, in October 2002, Michael's reputation and popularity have grown even more and he is now known as one of the leading slide guitarists and nu-blues innovators in the world. Second Mind has been described by one reviewer as "The best British blues album of the century so far," and by another as "a work of near genius." Being English with an international reputation for blues slide guitar is a rarity in itself, but Messer’s obsessive appetite for knowledge of the art is virtually unequalled. By harnessing elements of American blues, from pre-war Mississippi Delta styles to post-war Chicago sounds, and blending them with contemporary influences and street sounds, with slide guitar as the common link, Michael Messer creates music which is highly individual, original and universally accessible. Voted ‘Acoustic Blues Artist of the Year’ at the British blues awards, Michael has an outstanding reputation amongst musicians and generally people regarded to be ‘in the know’. As well as being an accolade to his world class acoustic blues playing, the British blues award was also an endorsement for his capacity to incorporate styles other than blues into his music. Ideas borrowed from Hawaiian steel guitar, reggae, rock, hip-hop and King Sunny Ade’s worldbeat sound all illuminate his playing. The latter style was particularly evident on the breakthrough album that won him his initial strong notices, Slidedance, released in 1990. The same description could equally apply to his 1993 collaboration with Terry Clarke and Lubbock, Texas guitarist, Jesse Taylor, entitled Rhythm Oil. The tour that accompanied its release saw Messer experiment further with musical elements including house and reggae, with a version of Mississippi Fred McDowell’s ‘Worried Life’ offering "an outstanding distillation of blues and contemporary music"....(Virgin Encyclopaedia of the Blues). Indeed Michael shares the rare honour with Bob Dylan and Kris Kristofferson, of having had no less than the legendary Johnny Cash write the sleeve notesfor this critically acclaimed but fairly well kept secret album, Rhythm Oil."Word pictures playing through my mind as I listen to the refreshing, earthy, panting sound of Rhythm Oil. What I hear here is the real thing.Bare-bones blues gut-bucket rural rock. This record carried me away to a long time ago, down a delta dirt road  to a land of my musical good-old-daysing.""PS…Don't squeeze the trigger, if you can't stand the recoil."Johnny Cash  ‘Second Mind,’ follows the widespread success of 2001’s ‘King Guitar’ album that established Messer as one of the most respected and innovative slide guitarists around. This highly anticipated album was recorded with a band stocked with world-class musicians, including the great Ruby Turner on backing vocals. On ‘Second Mind’, Michael delivered a set of recordings that stretch across the musical landscape. Deeply rooted in and inflected with the blues, the album incorporates a rich and diverse texture of different styles that appeal to an array of musical tastes. ‘Michael Messer is one of the most important bluesmen in Britain and mightily relevant throughout the blues world. He has progressed from being an excellent technician - on the National Steel especially, to being in the vanguard of the 21st century blues. And that doesn't mean he has forsaken traditional values either.  A beautiful amalgam of history and foresight; musicality and grit; blues, boogie and beats - Second Mind is a work of near genius’. Joe Cushley – Blues Matters‘Second Mind’ has cemented Michael Messer’s reputation as being one of the most musically dynamic and talented recording artists working today.Michael Messer’s significance as a blues artist is further confirmed by his inclusion in "The Virgin Encyclopaedia of the Blues.” Messer’s name appears alongside many of the blues ‘greats’ who influenced his playing. In the April 2003 issue of the American magazine, “Spirit,” Michael Messer has been listed alongside Duane Allman, Bob Brozman & Ry Cooder as one of the world's best slide guitar players ever. Newtone Strings® in conjunction with National Reso-phonic® Guitars have a Michael Messer brand specifically made for the National steel guitar, which reflects the esteem in which he is held. These are the brand leaders in their field and used by most National steel players around the world.As well as his own music, Messer has produced albums by the legendary Venice Beach singer, Ted Hawkins and the undisputed King of Palm Wine guitar from Sierra Leone, S.E.Rogie.