2. ABOUT – Biography
BIOGRAPHY
Ghalia Volt
One Woman Band
Released 2021 on Ruf Records
Never underestimate the power of a woman with her back to the wall. In March 2020, as Covid blew across the planet, the shutters came down on live venues and recordingstudios, and the music scenefellsuddenly silent,Ghalia Volt faced the same dilemma as every otherartist. What now?
The answer was One Woman Band.
For Volt, the rebirth as a solo performer wasn’t a decision made lightly. Since the early days, she’s been amusician who thrives on the buzz of the hook-up, surrounding herself with the best players and soaking uptheir vibe. Back in 2017, it was the Belgium-born songwriter’s taste forcollaboration that led her to New Orleans, for the meeting with local blues legends Mama’s Boys that became her smash-hit debut album, Let The Demons Out.
Two years later, it was that samespirit that luredVolt to the fabledhill country of Coldwater, Mississippi, to hold her own at second-albumsessions with greats likeCody Dickinson, Cedric Burnside, Lightnin’ Malcolmand Watermelon Slim.
With the breakout success of 2019’s Mississippi Blend – a record that broke into the Top 3 of the Billboard Blues Chart on three separate occasions – it seemed the world was Volt’s for the taking,her seven-year transformation from Brussels busker to the adopted daughter of American rootsgathering pace. Now, with One Woman Band, the journey takes a thrilling left-turn. Ifher apprenticeship on the mean streets taught Volt anything, it’s thatshe alreadyhadeverything she needed to make magic – and in March, she reconnected with that one-woman philosophy. “I started playing on a real drum set,” she recalls.“Playing a kick, snare and hi-hat plus a tambourine with my two feet, while playing slide/guitar and singing at the same time.”
After road-testing the new format at shows across Mississippi, Volt realisedthat one was the magic number. In August, she committed to the project, embarking on a month-long Amtrak train trip that became an intensive writing session, the shifting landscapes beyond thewindow inspiring her pen to scratch as never before.“I crossed Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, Mississippi,” she reflects.“The goal? Towrite the entire album through my travel. Most of the songs are inspired by the journey and real experiences. Others are from imagination.”
Recorded in November at Memphis’s legendary Royal Sound Studios – “on the same board where Al Green and Willie Mitchell made history” – One Woman Bandsaw Volt take an equally old-school approach. Rejecting the soft option of multi-tracking, she chose to record all the instruments live in real-time, flying solo except for two cameos on bass from New Orleans ace Dean Zucchero, and a pair of guest guitar solos from ‘Monster’ Mike Welch (a recent guest on Volt’spopular Blues ‘N’ Roll virtual sessions on YouTube). Co-producing the record with Lawrence Boo Mitchell, Volt made the bold decision to let the rough edges stay on, prizing atmosphere over perfection and delivering her most groove-driven material to date.
You can feel the turn of those train wheels in the addictive stomp of songs like Reap What You Sow, or Last Minute Packer, where Volt gives us a candid snapshot of roadlife’s manic pace, complete with a wicked double-entendre (‘It’sanother hotel room/One night stay, wap bam boom’).Meanwhile, therattle-and-shiver slide guitar of Espiritu Papago evokes the scream of a locomotive whistle. “Imagine John Lee Hooker on mushrooms, lost in the desert of Arizona, on a hot summer day,” says Volt.“That’s the vibe of that song.”
Just as the music cuts to the bone, so the lyrics are honest, raw and often witty, whether that’s Volt laying down her ground rules for a partner on Loving Me Is A Full Time Job, or exploringhow a parent’s toxic example can create a monster on Bad Apple. “It Ain’t Bad was the first song I wrote when the pandemic started,” she explains.“I remember walking in the park after fifteen days without family or friends,income or work, andtelling myself, even if we’re going through rough times, we’re still fortunate, so don’t take things for granted. Meet Me In My Dreams evokes how lucky we are when someone we’ve lost forever appears in our dreams. When your own memories start to fade, any new moment spent together – even in a dream –feels golden.”
The Covid-19 pandemic is an unprecedented chapter of human history, with noclear end in sight. ButGhalia Volt has given us the soundtrack to better times ahead, and the songs we’ll still be singing when we meet on the other side. This might be a One Woman Band – but you’re always welcome to ride shotgun.
2019
You can’t miss Ghalia Volt. She’s the natural-born rock star with the leather jacket and wicked grin, leaning from her album sleeve to offer you a hit on her hip flask. But the real Southern blend ain’t in the bottle, it’s on the songs. Following the New Orleans flavours of her 2017 breakthrough, Let The Demons Out, this year sees the acclaimed Brussels-born singer-songwriter dive deeper into the American South, recording in the hill country of Mississippi, where she shared her songs with a cast of esteemed local musicians and caught the flying sparks. This is Mississippi Blend: an album as fiery and throat-burning as Delta moonshine.
But like any musician with the blues under their fingernails, Ghalia always burned to make a record in Mississippi. Right from the start, her vision for Mississippi Blend was clear. This was to be an album so raw it bled, recorded deep in the hill country, letting all the region’s favourite sons add their thumbprint and catching the vibe that blew on the breeze. “Raw and natural,” nods the singer. “With bleedings, minimal microphones used, a traditional approach with modern influences.”
Six years ago, Ghalia was a best-kept secret, her days spent busking on the streets of the Belgium capital, her nights shaking the city’s blues clubs. But as a die-hard R&B and blues fan, the singer-songwriter found the siren call of America too strong to resist. Visiting Chicago, Memphis and Nashville, Ghalia’s livewire talent saw her embraced by the musical motherland and elevated to headliner status.
Before long, on Let The Demons Out, she fused the groove of New Orleans with her own punk-rock attitude, hooking up with bassist Dean Zucchero, guitarist Smokehouse Brown and harmonica player Johnny Mastro from the Crescent City’s legendary band, Mama’s Boys. Commercially and creatively, this debut release made a seismic impact, hitting #1 on Louisiana’s Roots Music Report, #15 on the national Contemporary Blues Chart and #23 on the Living Blues Charts – while scoring Blues Album Of The Month in Classic Rock (“They’re an irresistible force”).
There was one studio that fit the bill. There was one studio that fit the bill. Owned and operated by, award-winning producer Jim Dickinson sons, Cody and Luther Dickinson, the Zebra Ranch in Coldwater, Mississippi, is a beacon of old-school production, where titans from T-Model Ford to R.L. Burnside have torn it up. But rather than being overawed by the studio’s history, Ghalia stepped up with her own songs and attitude, immersed in the Mississippi spirit. “I wanted this record to be organic, with hill country influences and the punk, garage and rock ‘n’ roll that I started with. I’m not trying to imitate any style, but letting my songs drive this music.”
Lyrically, these songs are Ghalia’s most powerful yet. “Meet You Down The Road is an emotive poem about the tragic loss of a loved one,” she says. “Drag Me Down is about never stopping doing what we aim to do. Squeeze is an erotic love song disguised in a cute, playful story. Why Don’t You Sell Your Children? speaks of a society in which common morals have become so increasingly depleted in the interest of greed that one’s next step might as well be to sell off your offspring for some extra cash.”
Ghalia sings up a storm, while playing soulful dobro and slide guitar. But this is anything but a one-woman show. Once again, Zucchero and Brown were the engine room, while every morning saw the singer welcome a new guest. On drums, you’ll find Cody Dickinson of the feted North Mississippi Allstars, alternating with Cedric Burnside, whose feel on the hill country-flavoured tunes would have made both his late father and grandfather proud. The veteran harp-blower Watermelon Slim duets with Ghalia on the dusty-road groove of Wade In The Water, while Lightnin’ Malcolm – a guitarist credited with keeping the hill country scene so healthy – plays searing leads. “The process of this record,” says Ghalia, “was an absolutely beautiful experience.”
By all means, take a slug on her hip flask. But don’t forget to play Mississippi Blend – and fall for the most powerful cocktail of star players and roots styles you’ll hear this year. “I just can’t wait,” says the singer, “to share this new album live…”
