Time: 42:43
Size: 97.8 MB
Styles: Acoustic blues
Year: 2014
Art: Front
[2:59] 1. Broke Down Engine Blues
[2:15] 2. Bye Bye Blues
[4:17] 3. I Heard The Angels Singing
[5:23] 4. Illinois Blues
[3:24] 5. Joliet Bound
[2:26] 6. Mama, Tain't Long Fo' Day
[3:59] 7. Pony Blues
[3:31] 8. Ragged And Dirty
[3:20] 9. Rolling Log Blues
[2:16] 10. Screaming And Crying Blues
[5:52] 11. Special Rider
[2:54] 12. Statesboro Blues
Koch Shankar, born in India and now residing near London, plays and sings roots blues stemming from the 1920's movement in the southern United States. Identifying with legends such as Blind Willie McTell and Blind Blake, Koch campaigns for the resurgence of this genre, finding it emotive and soulful. To him, it sparked the of rock n' roll, jazz, and pop music.
During his early years in 1960's India, he was exposed to different flavours of British pop and American rock n' roll which were readily available in his hometown of Bangalore. He soon became dissatisfied with these genres and gravitated towards Black music like the blues, which was underrepresented at the time. After moving to Canada, he delved back in time to the 1920's where he began discovering the beginnings of contemporary music and settled with the roots blues men of the US Delta. Koch feels that the marginalized blues men of the period were kept out of the limelight because of the racial discrimination of the time. He incorporates the brilliance of these long gone musicians into his repertoire. Without them, he says, we would not have the other genres which have overshadowed their beginnings.
When Koch Shankar performs, he references the origins of the songs he plays but strives to render them in a personal and original way. “I play and sing songs that I feel strongly about so that I can connect the audience emotionally. At times, this comes across as raw and intense.” After busking for many years with other musicians in R&B bands in Montreal, London and Bombay either as a vocalist or musician, he still loves collaborating with folk, blues and R&B musicians in performances in European cities and beyond.
During his early years in 1960's India, he was exposed to different flavours of British pop and American rock n' roll which were readily available in his hometown of Bangalore. He soon became dissatisfied with these genres and gravitated towards Black music like the blues, which was underrepresented at the time. After moving to Canada, he delved back in time to the 1920's where he began discovering the beginnings of contemporary music and settled with the roots blues men of the US Delta. Koch feels that the marginalized blues men of the period were kept out of the limelight because of the racial discrimination of the time. He incorporates the brilliance of these long gone musicians into his repertoire. Without them, he says, we would not have the other genres which have overshadowed their beginnings.
When Koch Shankar performs, he references the origins of the songs he plays but strives to render them in a personal and original way. “I play and sing songs that I feel strongly about so that I can connect the audience emotionally. At times, this comes across as raw and intense.” After busking for many years with other musicians in R&B bands in Montreal, London and Bombay either as a vocalist or musician, he still loves collaborating with folk, blues and R&B musicians in performances in European cities and beyond.
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