Harry Manx
Encyclopedia
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, and Hindustani classical music
Hindustani classical music
Hindustani classical music is the Hindustani or North Indian style of Indian classical music found throughout the northern Indian subcontinent. The style is sometimes called North Indian Classical Music or Shāstriya Sangeet...
. He was born in the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
where he spent his childhood and now lives on Saltspring Island
Saltspring Island
Saltspring Island is one of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia between mainland British Columbia, Canada and Vancouver Island. It is the largest, the most populous, and the most frequently visited of the Gulf Islands...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Manx plays the slide guitar
Slide guitar
Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
, harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, six-string banjo, mohan veena
Mohan veena
The Mohan veena is a stringed musical instrument used in Indian classical music. It derives its name from its inventor Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt...
and Ellis stomp box
Ellis Guitars
Ellis Guitars is a company based in Perth, Western Australia producing handmade acoustic guitars and acoustic stompboxes. In recent years the company has produced some novel, sometimes unique, guitars based upon a resonator design....
. He studied for five years in India with Vishwa Mohan Bhatt
Vishwa Mohan Bhatt
Vishwa Mohan Bhatt also known as V. M. Bhatt is an Indian slide guitar player. Bhatt is the creator of the Mohan Veena...
. He has released eight albums.
Manx was a nominee in the 8th Annual Independent Music Awards
The Independent Music Awards
The Independent Music Awards is an international program that honors top-ranked independent artists and releases in more than 50 Album, Song, Music Video and Design categories....
for his Cover of "I'm on Fire".
Early years
Manx was born on the Isle of ManIsle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
. He grew up in Canada and then returned to Europe in the late 1970s to work at festivals as a blues lapslide guitarist and songwriter. He then moved to Japan where he lived and performed for 10 years.
Japan and India
In 1990, while Manx was in Japan, he heard a recording of the Indian slide guitarist Vishwa Mohan BhattVishwa Mohan Bhatt
Vishwa Mohan Bhatt also known as V. M. Bhatt is an Indian slide guitar player. Bhatt is the creator of the Mohan Veena...
. It was not long before he contacted Bhatt and joined him in India. He became a student of Bhatt's and remained with him for five years. They travelled together in India and performed for large audiences.
Canada
In 2000, Manx moved back to Canada and set up residence in Saltspring Island, British Columbia and recorded his first Canadian album at the Barn Studios. This debut recording features 14 tracks of his one-man-band sound on the lap slide guitar, the Mohan Veena, the harmonica and vocals.Manx has been nominated for six Juno Awards throughout his career, including the Roots and Traditional Album of the Year at the 2006 ceremony and Blues Album of the Year for Bread and Buddha (2010)
Style
Manx's musical style has been called an "essential musical link" between the East and the West. His songs are "short stories that use the essence of the blues and the depth of Indian ragas to draw you in".Solo and duo
- Dog My Cat (2001)
- Wise and Otherwise (2002)
- Jubilee (with Kevin BreitKevin BreitKevin Breit is a guitar player from McKerrow, Ontario. His group, The Sisters Euclid, has been a fixture at the Orbit Room in Toronto for the past 13 years. Breit has worked as a session musician with a variety of musicians including The Miller Stain Limit, Norah Jones, Michael Kaeshammer, Celine...
) (2003) - Road Ragas (2003)
- West Eats MeetWest eats meetWest Eats Meet is an album released in 2004 by the Canadian folk music artist Harry Manx.-Track listing:# "Help Me" – 3:11# "Make Way for the Living" – 4:26# "Shadow of the Whip" – 3:29# "The Great Unknown" – 4:07...
(2004) - Mantras for Madmen (2005)
- In Good We Trust (with Kevin BreitKevin BreitKevin Breit is a guitar player from McKerrow, Ontario. His group, The Sisters Euclid, has been a fixture at the Orbit Room in Toronto for the past 13 years. Breit has worked as a session musician with a variety of musicians including The Miller Stain Limit, Norah Jones, Michael Kaeshammer, Celine...
) (2007) - Live at the Glenn Gould Studio (2008)
- Bread and Buddha (2009)
- Isle of Manx - the Desert Island Collection (2010)
- Strictly Whatever (with Kevin BreitKevin BreitKevin Breit is a guitar player from McKerrow, Ontario. His group, The Sisters Euclid, has been a fixture at the Orbit Room in Toronto for the past 13 years. Breit has worked as a session musician with a variety of musicians including The Miller Stain Limit, Norah Jones, Michael Kaeshammer, Celine...
) (2011)
Compilation inclusions
- Johnny's Blues: A Tribute To Johnny CashJohnny's Blues: A Tribute To Johnny CashJohnny's Blues: A Tribute To Johnny Cash is a 2003 compilation album, released by Northern Blues Music, of blues-oriented songs made popular by Johnny Cash, sung by various Canadian and American performers.- Track listing :...
(Northern Blues, 2003) - Saturday Night Blues: 20 YearsSaturday Night Blues: 20 YearsSaturday Night Blues: 20 Years is a 2006 2 CD compilation album, released by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and, internationally, by the Universal Music Group, of live performances of Canadian blues artists, as featured on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio program Saturday Night...
(CBCCBC RadioCBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...
, 2006)
External links
- Harry Manx official website
- Dog My Cat Records Harry Manx's independent record label
- Youtube short documentary Manx describes his signature instrument; sings and play's Rueben's Train with it.