Michael van Merwyk - The Bear (CD)

Michael van Merwyk sings "They call me the bear ..." with his dark and soulful voice and this image of a bear appears in your head as soon as you hear the great, relaxed, versatile and emotional guitarist, lapsteel player, singer and songwriter and sees. The almost 2 meter giant calls himself “Songster” - a traveling musician who plays a mixture of folk songs, ballads, dance songs and pop songs in order to earn a little money. "A good song is a good song, regardless of whether it is an original, an old blues or folk song or" bank robber "from The Clash," says Michael, which takes him back to a time when there were no fixed genres. but only musicians who wanted to entertain and delight their audience with their music. “In the music industry, people like to be put in a clearly defined drawer so that they can use a suitable marketing strategy to sell the product. On the one hand, I understand that too, but it's just so much more fun to play what you feel like doing - regardless of genre boundaries. For me, music and creativity come first and marketing second, ”says Merwyk. Michael van Merwyk has already made a name for himself in the European music scene and has played countless concerts and sessions across Europe. On the way he has already won several prizes, including being the first European act in 2013 at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, where he came second. But his performances in cafes, pubs, blues festivals or private parties are essentially all about the music and the people. On his new album “The Bear” he returns to the blues with stories about the ups and downs of life. Regardless of whether he plays all alone with his beloved Dobro or is supported by his band, you can always feel a relaxed but powerful energy in his music. He recorded the album live in the studio with Christian Dozzler on piano and harmonica, Micha Maas on drums and Tobi Fleischer on bass. The first track, "Shotgun Boogie", is sarcastically devoted to the "shoot first, ask later" mentality that Michael experienced during his visit to Mississippi. But there are also love songs like the kitschy "Sometimes Angels Come In Red", classic blues pieces like "It's Fun Being Crazy", melodies with a folky touch like "Deep Blues Sea" and a homage to Michael's favorite slide player Tampa Red: a cover of "Dark & Stormy Night". On "The Bear" the focus is on Silde and Lap Steel guitars - uncompromising, atmospheric and concise. The music is a mixture of different genres from all over the world with a good portion of blues: Michael calls it "American Music - Euro Style". The album was recorded in the Watt Matters Studio in Bielefeld with just a homeopathic dose of overdubs and effects. Just a couple of musicians who sit together in one room and only need one take for each song. This creates closeness when listening, as if you were sitting in the middle of the musicians.

01 Shotgun Boogie
02 Blues stop knocking
03 Sometimes Angels Come In Red
04 The Bear (Acoustic)
05 We're Human
06 It's Fun Being Crazy
07 Deep Blue Sea
08 Bad Blues
09 Fool Yourself
10 Dark & Stormy Night
11 The Bear (reprise)