A Murder In Mississippi – Hurricana

14-01-2022

A Murder in Mississippi, a 6-piece band from Ghent, Belgium, performs roots music, a mixture of americana, country, folk, blues and even Irish traditionals. The band members share their passion for music and bring their unique backgrounds together to create a wide range of sounds, creating their own style. They bring a repertoire of self-written roots songs, with their own contemporary twist. From soft harmonies to rousing melodies; they take you to the vast plains of North America. This band lives up to its name. The Mississippi River is sometimes referred to as the backbone of the United States. The river crosses 10 states, each with a unique cultural and migration background. While the many Slavic and Irish migrants who settled in the more northern states introduced folk and polka, the towns further south along the Mississippi, such as Memphis and New Orleans, for example, became an important source of genres such as blues, country, jazz and rock & roll. The Mississippi is therefore a natural connection between roots and Americana genres, genres that A Murder in Mississippi seamlessly merges. Not to mention, the Mississippi River also has a dark, venomous side. There are many unsolved murders in the southern states. After all, the many alligators that live in the Bayou and Mississippi Delta make evidence easily disappear. The alligator is a recurring icon, almost a mascot, for A Murder in Mississippi. There is something in the water in Ghent, Belgium, but much more in that of the Mississippi. The most thriving music scene can be found in Ghent these days, but the Leie can't say what the Mississippi can do: blues, jazz and therefore rock in all guises were born on its banks. She even provided the name of a blues club thousands of miles away. In the shadow of that Missy Sippy, A Murder In Mississippi was born in 2013, the band of Leander Vandereecken (guitar, vocals), sister Mirthe Vandereecken (percussion, vocals), Lore Heyerick (banjo, vocals), Dieter Vanhede (keyboards) , Alexandra Van Wesemael (violin) and Stijn Bontinck (double bass). From the very beginning, the focus of this six-piece was on roots music and that in such a credible way that none other than blues legend Tim De Graeve (Tiny Legs Tim) signed them on his label. Corona threw sand in the machine, but the second album is out now and it is full of own, original songs that fit into the tradition in such a way that they seem like traditionals that have always been there. For ten songs, the six predilection for country, folk, Americana and Irish tunes, they bring a smile to the lips of the audience, even as they deal with themes such as goodbye, addiction, fears and personal setbacks. 'Rivers Whispers', already a single in 2020, takes you on the plank floor of an Irish pub where the dust rises from between the cracks under the dancing feet that are whipped up by the violin of Van Wesemael and the banjo of Lore Heyerick. The same can be said of 'The Wrong Side Of The Road', although we are already in the Mississippi Delta somewhere between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. 'Forever And A Day' is a murder ballad from that region. The body cannot be found, but isn't that crocodile licking the leather lips suspiciously intensely and isn't the raven from 'The Raven And The Oak Branch Tree' just waiting for a chance to grab a piece of liver? Things get dangerous here, but the band pretends nothing is wrong and tells the story of Mary the vicar's daughter who was seen with another man on and in 'The Wishing Well'. The instrumental gem 'Polaris' brings everything to rest and flows seamlessly into 'Starlight Dreamer', the most emotional song on the record, the first verse of which is sung by Mirthe Vandereecken, but in which brother Leander takes over again until both voices are perfect harmony, supported by piano and violin. Pure beauty ! The polka 'Run Brother Run' brings us back to Earth and makes that same world spin. After a short breather, 'Your Kingdom Burning' also succeeds in this, but in the end the record ends in purity again with 'Long Gone/Caged Brid', a folk song and a prayer in one. "I am gone", Mirthe sings in this, but A Murder in Mississippi proves to be here to stay and on its own breathes new life into an almost dead genre.

A1 River Whispers

A2 Wrong Side Of The Road

A3 Forever And A Day

A4 The Raven & The Oak Branch Tree

A5 The Wishing Well

B1 Polaris

B2 Starlightdreamer

B3 Run Brother Run

B4 Your Kingdom Burning

B5 Long Gone / Caged Bird

Leander Vandereecken - Guitar, Lead vocals

Mirthe Vandereecken - Percussion, Vocals