review ElectroBluesSociety

ElectroBluesSociety – Jasper Mortier and Jan Mittendorp – are notorious for their good taste in temporary vocalists and they have, once again, made a fine choice by inviting Jan Hidding – from blues revivalists Cuban Heels – to add his vocal class to the three songs that make up this EP. As you might imagine, given that all concerned have an impressive track record in taking people to 12 bar nirvana, these three songs are polished yet eminently causal things. Nothing is rushed but never does their intent falter. The songs are laidback much in the way that a seventies blues/funk crossover band might have performed them and, while these three good gentlemen drift away from the rigidity expected of the blues format, it is never in doubt that their collective heart is in the right and true place. Listening to these three songs serves as a timely reminder of why real musicianship played with passion can never be replaced or matched by the computer. It’s an organic thing and that’s the truth.
Best song? The ever rolling “Rosie”. The verdict? Pure class.

review from the UK

Here is what BLUES IN THE SOUTH wrote about two or our recent single releases with BOO BOO DAVIS on KuvVer Records:

These is the sixth and seventh single releases from this combination of European outfit with Mississippi born singer Boo Boo, and again they are both classic Howling Wolf songs – and again they are both winners! Davis has just the right kind of gritty voice for these down-home items, with ‘How Many More Years’ running to a few seconds short of four minutes, and although the song is a little more “electrofied” than some of its predecessors (Boo Boo’s wailing harp sound has been a little altered), the rhythm remains straightforward and direct. ‘Back Door Man’ gets quite a radical re-working though still managing to keep a strong down-home feel, despite some jazz licks and even a shade of a hip-hop feel at times. If you like what you have heard of these collaborations so far, do check these two out, but if your tastes tend more towards the traditional, maybe try ‘How Many More Years’ first.
Norman Darwen

review on IndieBandGuru.com

this is what IndieBandGuru.com wrote about on of our latest tracks:

Blues music never truly experienced the commercial and social boom Jazz music had in the twentieth century. Blues music was not far behind Jazz music in terms of prestige and relatability of the world’s melancholy during and after World War II. Although the genre is no longer a relatable force, with the exception of the Chicago scene, there are still musicians out there actively resurrecting the mourning souls of yesterday. One of those bands is ElectroBluesSociety, a duo with a prestigious amount of years before them. Before being a part of the Black and Tan Records label, bassist and drummer Jasper Mortier and guitarist Jan Mittendrop have held numerous years of experience in the European revival scene of Blues music. Although, it would be unfair to compare their style to that of Muddy Waters or any other Blues legend. Electrobluessociety describe their own style as a “range between Alan Romax to Roxy Music and from Charlie Parker to Led Zeppelin.” Their aim is on reviving the old-school sound with modern technology. It’s easy to understand that these two hold a good amount of musical depth in their blood and know how to utilize their strength. They’ve proven that with their latest single, ‘Be Allright.’ The single is as wavy as it is ambient. There’s not too much noise filtering in between notes. The patterned guitar strings are amplified when necessary and even used in reverb along with the other elements. The musical pattern is thoroughly cleansed, which drains out all the grittiness that typically consists of a live session, for better or for worse. The strings are definitely the highlight of the single. Dancing along with Mortier’s bass strings, Mittendrop’s guitar strings manage to coalesce with the bass strings perfectly. Both instruments manage to do this even when they’re traveling at their own pace. For its five-minute duration, the single shifts its pace and instrumental focal points. Mittendrop’s guitar strings take center stage, where each pluck booms and the pattern is carefully arranged. Mittendrop’s strings are placated by Mortier’s bass strings and the hollow moans that help transition each stage of the single’s arrangement. With these elements acting as the atlas stone of the track, these two manage to find their perfect Pythagorean formula. Filtering out all the filling noise that old-school revival songs tend to use, these two wanted to utilize technology as a way to enhance their art, not destroy it.

review from the UK

ElectroBluesSociety feat Boo Boo Davis – Smokestack Lightnin (KuvVer 606) ElectroBluesSociety feat Boo Boo Davis – Dust My Broom (KuvVer 607)

Here are another couple of download singles for KuvVer Records, again featuring the Mississippi bluesman, singer and harmonica blower Boo Boo Davis. He is in excellent form on Howling Wolf’s classic, ‘Smokestack Lightnin’, taken at the same tempo but with a slightly different accompaniment (though not too far away from the familiar version). This has a ghostly echo-like sound in the background; for those who remember cassette tapes, it is a little like when the reverse side used to “bleed through”. Boo Boo’s vocal is of course first-class! Similar comments can be applied to the cover of the Elmore James classic. There’s no doubt that’s the original inspiration for this rendition, with Jan Mittendoorp broom-dusting away on electric guitar, though even more to the fore is Boo Boo’s excellent, wild blues harp playing, making for another wonderful recording.

UK review

this what Norman Darwen wrote in BLUES IN THE SOUTH about one of the singles we released together with Boo Boo Davis:

ElectroBluesSociety feat Boo Boo Davis – Tell Me (KuvVer Records 605)

Mississippi born singer and drummer Boo Boo Davis goes back to his roots on this “digital single” from KuvVer Records. He used to sing this Howling Wolf song with The Davis Brothers Band when they played in a juke joint in Saint Louis. Maybe the tough vocal and wailing harmonica were more or less the same, even the loping rhythm, as the electronics are not really in evidence here, meaning that this is just a very fine, down-home blues performance. More please!

 

review for our latest single

There is no better night of the year to return to Sweet Home Chicago than Christmas Eve, Xmas in Chi-town during the Reign of King Richard (Daley) the First (“Too ra loo ra loo ral…”) was a joyous fulcrum week at the bottom of the year filled with food, spirits, parties, singing, crying and fighting. Even now I can close my eyes and fill my sinuses with the heavenborn heat of clean steam rising from the boiled fresh meats which would then swirl and fight with the ancient greasy smoke of the grilled meats at every restaurant vent on the block as I cruised alleys on foot homeward from Maxwell Street on Christmas morning fingering the night’s haul and minding the curves, always minding the curves. Or was it Taylor Street? Too old to care now. Musical giants Jan Mittendorp and Jasper Mortier form ElectroBluesSociety and this week they have teamed with Mississippi bluesman Boo Boo Davis to revive another great song. This time it’s the Elmore James classic, “Dust My Broom,” Enjoy.

US review for new single

this is what EastPortlandBlog wrote about our new single:

Smokestack Lightnin – ElectroBluesSociety feat Boo Boo Davis

This is so beautiful it hurts. This is live Chicago blues. I’m thirty years past Chicago and I’d swear I rode the Englewoood-Howard B Train tonight, shared a bottle of Christian Brothers on the down low and got clotheslined by “the Hawk” wind when I transferred for the Ravenswood line. Heaven on a bone, Smiffy’s Ribs, testifyin’ for the blues, the signal’s coming in strong, someone got set free tonight.

nice little review for our new single

This is our third feature for ElectroBluesSociety this time the vocals are provided by Michel Peters on ‘I Got My Mojo Workin’. Once again the mixture of timeless natural blues is performed with passion and the modern electro influences add another fabulous dimension to the song.