The two exceptional slide guitarists and songwriters Michael van Merwyk and Bad Temper Joe play and sing a selection of each other's acoustic blues compositions on their first joint album, available only on vinyl.
Blues music in Germany has a large audience and draws equally on the talent of artists who represent it. Two flourishing names in the scene are the Westphalian blues artists Michael van Merwyk and Bad Temper Joe. The two giants – MvM is 2 meters tall, BTJ at 1,95 meters – have distinguished themselves over the years as independent personalities and musicians. The older van Merwyk will celebrate his 2024th stage anniversary in 40, while the younger Joe will celebrate 10 years since the release of his first album in the same year. Michael van Merwyk shaped Bad Temper Joe's musical career from the very beginning, always being a mentor and supporter. With "Songs 'n' Slide," they are now releasing their first joint album on the Osnabrück-based record label Timezone. As could not be more fitting for the duo's raw and rousing acoustic blues, the album is released exclusively on 12-inch vinyl. So it's time to grab a drink, put on the record, sit down, lean back, and listen to the incomparable sounds of these two musicians. That's how you enjoy music.
Each of the two musicians is in a class of their own. Michael van Merwyk, also known as "The Bear", is the winner of the German Blues Challenge, stood on the podium at the 2013 International Blues Challenge in Memphis with his band Bluesoul and has been named best guitarist and singer several times by the jury and expert audience at the German Blues Awards. He learned his craft firsthand from artists including Jimmy Rogers, Lazy Lester, Joe Louis Walker and Jimmy Johnson. International blues greats such as Larry Garner and Big Daddy Wilson trust him as a studio or touring guitarist, and renowned European blues festivals regularly invite him on stage. He tours from Norway to the Mediterranean coast, from the Atlantic coast to Moscow and always stays true to his "American Music - Euro Style". Bad Temper Joe, the grumpy blues bard from the East Westphalian province, has also developed into an absolutely exceptional phenomenon on the German blues scene in recent years. This is also evidenced by, among other things, winning the German Blues Challenge, being nominated for various blues awards, and receiving the German Record Critics' Award. BTJ has also made waves internationally – whether as the only European act in the finals of the 2020 International Blues Challenge or with his band at the major European Blues Union Blues Festival in Poland in 2023. The British Blues Matters Magazine rightly commented: "It's hard to believe that the sounds of the Mississippi Delta have relocated to Germany, but they have."
The two men, their voices and guitars, and ten songs, recorded without frills in one afternoon at Bielefeld's Watt Matters recording studio: that seems to be the recipe for success for a haunting blues album. But what exactly is it that makes the blues of these two musicians so unique? The intensity that caresses the recordings is unmistakable. Each of them wrote half of the compositions, and each contributes equally vocally to the album. This demonstrates the great respect the two have for one another: each arranged, led, and sang the five songs composed by the other, with the composer taking on the role of accompanist. The two lay the foundation for the songs and the soundscapes with their very own double-slide guitar style: Bad Temper Joe plays exclusively a Weissenborn lap steel; van Merwyk an old Dobro resonator guitar, which he skillfully manipulates with a bottleneck. The result is an exciting and varied joint album, which is unique in its nature in the German blues scene.