2021 – Little Village Foundation
By Phillip Smith; Oct. 3, 2021
Memphissippi Sounds, a duo comprised of Damion Pearson (vocals, harmonica,
guitar) and Cam Kimbrough (vocals, drums, guitar), brings to the table,
a unique spin on the North Mississippi Hill Country Blues. In his youth, Pearson quickly latched onto
the sounds of his father’s record collection which consisted of the likes of Parliament/Funkadelic
and the Ohio Players. He picked
up the blues from listening to Memphis’s WDIA radio where B.B. King
and Rufus Thomas both got their start in radio. Kimbrough, the grandson of blues great
Junior Kimbrough grew up surrounded by blues, but also had a taste for bands
such as Metallica, System of a Down, Nirvana, and Incubus. When Pearson and Kimbrough joined
forces to play music together, they zeroed in on the hill-country blues which they
quickly discovered fit them like a glove.
Welcome to the Land, the duo’s first album was recorded at the
legendary Sun Studios in Memphis and produced by Aki Kumar, with Jim
Pugh serving as executive producer.
This fascinating nine-track
album of all-originals begins with “Who’s Gonna Ride”, a social commentary which
absolutely tears the roof off as it touches on subjects such as George Floyd, BLM,
and the pandemic. Fortified with a
rolling swampy funk, Pearson lays
down a smoking performance on harp. A
furious beat and infectious rhythm combine forces in “I’m Mad”, and it sounds
great. Pearson’s hypnotic
guitar riff rides along a mesmerizing performance from Kimbrough to soulfully invoke the essence of the band War, in the “Crossroads”. I love how their vocals play off each other
in this one. Sometimes one just can’t
wait for an afternoon delight, and “Saturday Morning” is when things go down in
the bedroom. This hill-country groove is
perfectly executed. Immediately following,
the relaxed propulsion of “High & Low” gently immerses me inside its muddy,
tranquil musicscape, and it feels wonderful.
The album closes with “Look Out for the Wolf”, a song which seems to
call back to the early days of Muddy Waters
and Howlin’ Wolf. It’s a spectacular blues song to say the
least.
Memphissippi
Sounds’ Welcome to the Land is a record blues fans
will damn sure want to hear. It’s
fantastic!
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For more information about the artist, visit this website : https://www.memphissippisounds.com/
