Hans Theessink Slow Train DMM 180g Import LP

Dutch born and now Vienna-based Austrian singer and guitarist Hans Theessink continues the synthesis of blues, folk and world music that's flourished on his latest albums. On this acoustic project, Theessink again features the talents of three African vocalists, and the stirring results suggest Ry Cooder's early work and, perhaps more directly, Paul Simon's Graceland.

Theessink has composed a stirring set of songs that seamlessly fuse his unplugged strumming, sonorous voice, and threepiece band into the very definition of laid-back comfort. His lovely Piedmont picking on "May The Road" is offset by harmonies that shift the tune halfway across the world. Such magnificent combinations of seemingly divergent elements drive this splendid album to spine-tingling heights. Theessink doesn't play traditional blues here; instead, he deftly references the genre as one of many stops on his global trek through the Delta, into backwoods folk, and onward to Africa. This beautifully crafted project boasts detailed arrangements performed with a calm, casual groove best described as hypnotic.

This fabulous acoustic recording sets standards, both musically and audiophile. All instruments and voices were recorded in "live" sessions with no overdubs. Microphone placement and mixing was done precisely in the best possible way.