Part 8.
Is that what "Sittin' On Top Of The World" is about?
Well, I guess. It's the prototype of all songs about self-delusion. That's an old old tune. My rendition is heavily indebted to a version by the Mississippi Sheiks, an obscure blues duo that recorded between 1930 and 1933. Emotions didn't change all that much over the years, did they?
Are there any songs of your own? When will we be able to hear them?
Oh yes, definitely. I'm working on them, and the next album probably won't contain any cover versions at all. I'll hopefully be able to get some musicians together as well to help me record. But before doing that, I wanted people to know where I come from. And I'll certainly keep playing traditional songs all my life, they're so rich.
One last question: What are you listening to at the moment? Anything you might hear on the radio these days?
I'm afraid not. I just bought a 3 CD-set of music by Big Bill Broonzy, a country blues artist and one of the most swinging guitar players you've ever heard. This material was recorded in a studio a few months before his death, and the songs he played are interspersed with bits of dialogue between Big Bill and the guy who recorded him. Really really exciting. But I'm also going to see Ani DiFranco when she comes to play Berlin in February. Not that you would hear her stuff much on the radio either, but at least she's under fifty.
