Skip to main content

David Sylvian - The First Day

When the story of Blues is told to the world, the small town Holly Springs, Mississippi and the North Mississippi region as a whole, is often left out. But, those who know, know that this region is the Hill Country, and it is the home of a style of blues unlike others and continuing to shape popular music culture. Mississippi Hill Country Blues, like all forms of the blues, is deeply rooted in the cultural memories and experiences of those who first performed it. It builds upon the African and diasporic emphasis upon rhythm as not just beats and timing, but giving syncopation and polyrhythm both rhythmic elements, an elevated role in music much like that of the melody. The driving rhythm and aggressive groove, established primarily by sitting on one chord for long phrases, set Hill Country Blues apart from other forms like Delta Blues. Hill Country Blues is the soundscape of the region that includes several counties and towns around Holly Spring, Senatobia, and Como, Mississippi. The rich but difficult culture and soil of the area... continue to influence rock, country, and other forms of American popular music.

Like other forms of blues, artists of the Hill Country genre were known throughout the region and performed often in juke joints, clubs, at picnics or in any gathering where it was possible in North Mississippi and neighboring Memphis, Tennessee before being introduced to the rest of the world... The music, most often played on guitar and sung but also using harmonica and related to Mississippi fife and drum music, features a drone guitar picking style, driving rhythm in the guitar or other lead instrument, and singing that was a blend of speech and song. The style was and most often still is, dance music. It is meant to make a crowd move and this feature is heard even in the ballads. It has always featured characteristics of blues from other areas, as well as gospel and it continues to evolve and incorporate the sounds of other genres.


David Sylvian - The First Day
  • Released on: August 10, 1993
  • Genre: Art Rock
  • Produced by: David Sylvian and David Bottrill

"David Sylvian staked out a far ranging and esoteric career that encompassed not only solo projects but also a series of fascinating collaborative efforts and forays into filmmaking, photography, and modern art."

See Previous Song of the Day 

Labels:
Location: United States

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jackson Browne - Kisses Sweeter than Wine

Europe has a rich history of embracing blues and jazz music. In the early 20th century, American jazz musicians began touring Europe, introducing the continent to a new sound that was unlike anything they had ever heard before. Jazz became an instant hit among European audiences, and many European musicians began incorporating jazz elements into their music. Today, jazz festivals are held all over Europe, attracting thousands of fans from all over the world. In addition, many European cities have thriving blues scenes, with local bands and musicians performing regularly. Blues and jazz have also made their way to Asia, where they have found a devoted fan base. Japan, in particular, has a thriving jazz scene, with many Japanese musicians achieving international recognition. In addition, China has also seen a rise in the popularity of jazz music in recent years. Jazz festivals are now held in major Asian cities such as Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, attracting jazz lovers from all over ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Veronica Swift - A Little Taste

There has always been an uncomfortable tension between rhythm and blues and rock and roll, a cyclical influence that vacillates between inspiration, appropriation and separation. Popular music has broken off into categories of rock, pop, country, and R&B, each with their own origin stories. But R&B and rock, usually codified as vastly different, Black and white styles, have long been intertwined in ways our historical memory may have us forget.  Despite the innovation that comes from separation, rock and R&B always find their way back to each other. In recent years, rock veterans have turned to the genre’s classics for inspiration. Queens of the Stone Age veered from their typical hard rock with 2017’s Villains, a dance y album inspired by frontman Josh Homme’s love of 1920s jazz and swing, other Black genres that laid the groundwork for the popular music of today. The whitewashing of rock’s history has oversimplified music’s malleability and silenced the voices of Amer...
Post a Comment
Read more

Cannonball Adderley - Willow Weep for Me

The positivity and uplifting effect of the musical product is more likely to mean the musician is cheering themselves and everybody up rather than that the musician is telling us they are happy. This can largely be applied to attitudes to the performance of jazz and other Black cultures in the Western world. Whilst some of the aforementioned jazz pioneers, like Ella Fitzgerald, stayed clean, several had a history of drug abuse... which often resulted in premature deaths. Louis Armstrong, who used the infinitely safer drug marijuana throughout his 69 years... Whilst drug use was not uncommon among musicians in general, this pattern that many of the greats of jazz died young due to addictions speaks of a consistent level of turmoil, and alludes to their common experience of racism as a depressive factor in 20th Century America. Source: A Soft Reminder of Where Jazz Came From by Tom Platts Cannonball Adderley - Willow Weep for Me Released in: September 1955 Genre: Jazz Label: Savoy "...
Post a Comment
Read more