Harry Manx has been blending eastern and western music for almost 20 years. He will be returning to Lethbridge to play the Geomatic Attic, Jan. 19.
The Salt Spring Island based bluesman adds an exotic flair to his music by using the Mohan Veena, a special 20 string instrument he picked up and learned while living in India.
Last year he released “Strictly Whatever,” his third album for Stony Plain records and third with guitarist extraordinaire Kevin Breit.
“Kevin is sort of an under-known Canadian musician,” Manx enthused from his Salt Spring Island home, where he shares a neighbourhood with other Canadian music luminaries like Randy Bachman and Valdy. He is taking a few weeks off after an exhaustive five to six month tour, before beginning another extensive tour.
“He’s such a good player, that just by playing with him, you start to play better,” he continued adding Breit can play pretty much everything.
“But he always goes a little bit further.”
Breit won’t be joining Manx on this tour, but American multi-instrumentalist Hans Christian will be touring with him, playing a variety of instruments including a guitar and more unusual exotic instruments.
“We’re very different,” he said adding while he is more laid back, Christian is more energetic on stage.
Manx loves unusual instruments.
“I’ve been playing a cigar box guitar with four strings. I had one, but it fell apart, so I got someone to make me another one. I love weird instruments,” he said.
“I’m best known for the Mohan Veena. I’m still learning more about it,” he said, adding while the last record only features a few tracks with the instrument, the next record will be an all instrumental album with German born, Wisconsin based musician and producer Hans Christian, which will prominently feature the Mohan Veena.
“I’m still going deeper into it,” he said. He is learning new East Indian ragas all the time.
He is also a one man band, so when he comes to Lethbridge, he will also be playing kick drums and snare with his feet in addition to guitar, banjo and Mohan Veena.
“I was a one man band for years,” he said.
“When I first started playing in front of people, I didn’t even take it (the Mohan Veena) out to play. I didn’t think anybody would be interested in hearing it. I was a little selfish and wanted to keep it for myself,” he said.
“But something kept clicking with it,” he continued.
“It has a wonderful range of sounds,” he said.
He is somewhat surprised yet pleased with being able to make a career of playing the Mohan Veena.
When East Indian people are in the audience they are impressed with how he plays one of their traditional instruments.
He noted while a lot of East Indians in his audience were born here, their parents are familiar with the instrument and the music he is playing, though he is putting his own spin on it.
“ It’s framed in the context of western music— blues music. Indian music has great subtleties, which takes a whole lifetime to learn,” he said.
“ But a lot of people got into it, so the time was right to so something like this,” he continued.
He has travelled the world and has dedicated followings in Lithuania, Germany and Poland.
The Toronto born bluesman learned the ropes of the blues running sound in Toronto blues clubs as a young man, then moved to India in his 20, where he met Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, who invented the 20 string Mohan Veena, and studied with him and his sons and students for five years .
He hasn’t been back to India since he moved back to Canada.
“I haven’t been back there since I left. I’ve got to wait until I feel the pull,” he said.
Tickets for the show, which is almost sold out, cost $45.
