Kai Strauss & The Electric Blues Allstars - Night Shift

The days when European artists simply imitated North American productions are long gone. Like it or not, blues has gone global - and it is kept alive by musicians who pour their own soul into it. Vocalist and guitarist Kai Strauss is one of that rare breed.

"Even as a teenager I was infected by the magic of Buddy Guy, Albert King and the Vaughan Brothers," says the musician who grew up musically in Osnabrück, Germany's blues heartland. Today, alongside his internationally assembled band, he is regarded as one of the big names on the European scene. From his professional debut in 1995, when he teamed up with Texas-born singer Memo Gonzalez, through to his successful solo career, Kai Strauss has consistently proven himself as a guitarist and vocalist of power and originality. Several German Blues Awards and appearances at prestigious festivals from Europe to the Caribbean confirm that Strauss has arrived in the international "Blues Champions League".

With "Night Shift", Kai Strauss releases his seventh album - and once again he manages to weave blues roots together with his own brand of funk and soul into an exciting contemporary sound. As a songwriter he has grown noticeably: his songs carry more urgency and topicality, occasionally tackling weightier subjects. Although Strauss has clearly mastered the grammar of the old blues masters, his guitar work is anything but paint-by-numbers blues. With a voice and energy all his own, he places his guitar licks with the precision of a South American penalty-taker. And when US blues mogul Bruce Iglauer (Alligator Records) praises Strauss as a musician "who has it all", it is clear that eight records, TV appearances and countless shows in over 20 countries have paid off.