After That Girl is Bad, featuring Cedric Burnside, last week, Joe Cushley broadcasted Station Blues, a song Hypnotic Wheels recorded with Sharde Thomas on fife and vocals on their Muddy Gurdy CD, on his Balling the Jack show on Resonance FM in London —an inspiring show, not to be missed!
We have got Muddy Gurdy. This is another interesting project. If you were listening last week, the French band Hypnotic Wheels have always had an interest in the blues. Last year went over to North Mississippi and collaborated with some of the native musicians there, including Sharde Thomas, the granddaughter of Otha Turner, fife and drum farmer, and custodian of the old traditions of fife playing. And Cedric Burnside, son of the Burnside blues dynasty. And Pat Thomas…
The Hypnotic Wheels have got a hurdy gurdy player. The sort of mesmeric quality of the hurdy gurdy matched with the drone trance quality of North Mississippi blues. They produced something rather wonderful.
This is Station Blues and it is Sharde Thomas singing. It is from the fife and drums tradition but with added gallic hurdy-gurdyness.
The section starts at 37:15.