Harry Manx
Bread and Buddha
Dog My Cat Records
www.dogmycatrecords.ca
visit Harry's website
also available on amazon
If you don’t know of this Canadian, take a deep seat, hold on tight and be ready for one of the most adventurous rides to a rare blending of acoustic blues and Indian music you might ever encounter. He studied for years in India with Vishwa Mohan Bhatt (Grammy winner with Ry Cooder for the stunning, “A Meeting By The River”). When he left he received a gift of one of Bhatt’s self-designed, custom made Mohan Veenas, a 20 stringed guitar/sitar, this was a catalyst for extending Manx’s fusion of east-west style of music. This is one performer that if you ever get a chance to see you should grab it up at any cost. It is a true fusing of these 2 styles of music done without the usual hoopla that goes with something new, but done beautifully.
His latest CD “Bread and Buddha” is the culmination of 2 years of work meticulous work by Manx and Co-Producer John Bailey, a Juno Award Winner. This disc has full instrumentation and is full and satisfying, don’t let the sparse looking cover shot fool you, it is a disc that is rich in tone and substance. Listen to the fantastic treatment he gives to Charlie Patton’s “Moon Going Down.” Or maybe you want to give a listen to one of the six tunes he penned where he
makes his fusion of East and West complete. He is equally adept on the Mohan Veena, Nations Steel Guitar, Slide Guitar as well as Piano and Tamboura. You owe yourself a treat and something new and completely different, and this is one you not only won’t regret, however will cherish for a long time, happy you took the risk. he didn’t write he picked good songwriters; J.J. Cale and Robbie Robertson. This disc has a strong bluesy undertone and a light feel, at times played on the Indian instruments where it can give a whole other feel. Take the J.J. Cale tune, San Diego-Tijuana, it has the same flow as the original but played with the lead instrument being tamboura and mohan veena, which adds a whole other dimension. The lyrics show that the time spent in India has had its effect upon his thinking also, again it is adding depth to the songs. A very interesting disc that seems to unfold and reveal new layers with each playing, a lot like taking an onion apart layer by layer.