Gipsy Power is centred on Steven Kautzky Andersson. In 1994 he formed a band to present his “visionary mix” of Jimi Hendrix, gipsy music and heavy rock and the debut album, called ‘Gipsy Power’ was nominated for a Swedish Grammy. Now, 27 years later, Andersson and the band are back, with new music, an album coming in November (‘Electric Threads’) and some new faces.
I’ve already heard the first single from the album, ‘Little Wing,’ a version of a Jimi Hendrix song which was released last year and based on the universal guitar language of the song’s originator. In fact it channelled Hendrix so closely, especially in the opening bars that the White Cliffs of Dover might be at one end and Boulogne fish market at the other. As does this one, for that matter…
I observed at the time that listening to Steven Kautzky Andersson’s material reminded me that this sort of music isn’t readily accessible these days and it is only because people like him make the effort to record it that we get to hear it at all.
‘Holy Water’ is a song written jointly with Ulrika Beijer, who provides the vocals. She’s an artist I haven’t encountered previously and it appears she’s a ‘seasoned’ one who has been involved in the Swedish music scene since the 1980s and has sung with Swedish Eurovision winner Carola. She’s in the process of overseeing her debut solo album, ‘The Lost Sessions’ and has just released a single from it, a version of Johnny Cash’s ‘Unchained.’
So, a different kind of artist to Mr Andersson but they gel perfectly. If you didn’t know these people or hadn’t just read about them you’d be forgiven for thinking this is a lost, just discovered track on which Hendrix was joined by Janis Joplin. I’m not kidding.
Eurovision it ain’t. But it could have opened…or closed…Woodstock. The analogy is chosen deliberately. The song is homage to water and its power and of course at Woodstock it pissed it down.
The PR promises an album “conveying authentic pure-grown progressive psychedelic 70s with ingredients that stretch from Zeppelin’s tongue era to Eastern European folk music.” Sounds tasty.
‘Holy Water’ was released on Friday September 24th on the TempCo label.
Find Gipsy Power: https://www.facebook.com/Gipsy-Power-469634387144725
Find Ulrika Beijer: https://www.facebook.com/Ulrika-Beijer-Music-101671988614838/?ref=page_internal
