One of the most challenging aspects for a Blues or Blues/Rock artist, in our website's opinion, it is to keep on being true to oneself, year after year and album after album, by not necessarily having to repeat themselves, in order to be successful but instead, progressing in their musical journeys without sounding repetitive and one-dimensional.
Perhaps there might not be a recipe or a specific path to be followed, when it comes to maintain one's musical integrity and, in that respect, instinctive certainly plays a vital role, for an artist.
True music fans can see through an artist's natural progression and thankfully, through the decades, true Blues, Funk or Blues/Rock aficionados have been and still are very capable to recognise not only true musicianship per se, but also the will of said artists to move forward in their artistic journey.
Somebody that makes giant steps forward every time that one of his albums gets released, is the Florida-based Guitar Prodigy and singer/songwriter Selwyn Birchwood, one of the most talented and versatile Blues, Funk, Southern Soul and Blues/Rock artists of this generation.
Birchwood's artistic story has been in constant rising since the artist's early days in the music business; heavily influenced in his early teens by a Blues/Rock pillar of the genre like Jimi Hendrix and then, few years later, by a Blues living legend such as Buddy Guy, Selwyn Birchwood's story took a decisive turn when, age 19, the guitarist and singer/songwriter met the legendary ace lap steel guitar player and Blues singer Sonny Rhodes, who recognised immediately Birchwood's skills and the early signs of a talent destined to grow very quickly, so much so that after one month of working together, in 2004, Rhodes decided to take Selwyn Birchwood with him on board to tour with him around the States on a permanent basis.
From that point on, Selwyn Birchwood's career took off very rapidly, to the point of becoming a solo artist in 2011, recording seven solo albums incorporating different styles that have been unanimously and enthusiastically welcomed by the music press and true music connoisseurs, thanks also to some legendary live performances that have showcased Birchwood's incredible musicianship on many different levels.
For those very few of our readers that are not yet hugely familiar with Selwyn Birchwood's remarkable artistry, the release of Birchwood's brand new album, called Electric Swamp Funkin' Blues, will come as an incredible revelation to them and, at the same time, for the many thousands that know Birchwood already well enough, a further confirmation of the American Guitar Supremo's phenomenal artistry.
If music could paint portraits, a record like Electric Swamp Funkin' Blues would be undoubtedly the perfect one to indicate the breathtaking musical journey Selwood is embarking currently, through an album where the American artist shuffles convincingly, through his incredible guitar playing style and his equally stunning singing voice, layers of Funk, Blues, Soul, Blues/Rock and even Folk with effortless class, whilst showing also his quality as a lyricist, especially on songs like Labour Of Love, Damaged Goods and All Hail The Algorithm, among others.
Throughout the 10 brand new tunes penned by Birchwood on his new record, the most enchanting aspect of Electric Swamp Funkin' Blues comes from the fact that each of the album's songs always reveal a new angle of the American singer/songwriter's multi-faceted artistry; from the album's title-track that delivers exactly what it promises in its title with such sonic force and power to the hypnotic slow Blues/Rock number Damaged Goods, or from the enthralling shuffle of Blues, Funk and Soul of a song like All Hail The Algorithm to a deeply personal Folk/Soul statement of openness and honesty like the closing track The Struggle Is Real, Birchwood engages the listener at every point of the record with such commanding presence, coming from his thunderous, deep and emotionally charged guitar playing style and his skills as a very soulful singer, while supported beautifully also by the presence of highly skilled musicians working with him on the new album, such as Regi Oliver (Baritone, Tenor, Alto and Bass Saxophones, Flutes), Donald “Huff” Wright (Bass Guitar), Henley Connor III (Drums, Percussion), John Hetherington (Hammond B3 Organ, Keyboards, Piano), Eli Bishop (Violin, Viola, Cello) and last, but not least, Briana Lutzi & Taylor Opie on Background Vocals duties.
Electric Swamp Funkin' Blues is a record of enormous brilliancy, both of a sonic and of a lyrical nature, brought by an artist that has got a clear vision of where he wants to take his music (and his many fans too), armed with a deep confidence in his musicianship, a confidence amply justified by the phenomenal amount of work gone into the making of this self-produced record, where Selwyn Birchwood displays all the class and the talent as one of the finest, most inspired artists and masters of Contemporary Blues, Soul and Funk worldwide.
Electric Swamp Funkin' Blues is out now and it is available to be purchased via Alligator Records
