Richard Gjems interview

Richard Gjems joins me on episode 51.
Richard hails from Norway, with its many blues clubs demonstrating how popular the music is there. 
Richard is a real student of the blues, and the place of the harmonica within it, and he is involved in archiving music at the National Library in Norway.
Richard has incorporated pre-war styles into his contemporary approach to playing the harmonica, where he covers multiple genres, including Nordic folk music.
A big exponent of different tunings, Richard likes to pick the tuning that works best for a particular recording.
He has released three acoustic albums with a pianist, two electric blues albums and will soon be releasing some of his ‘field recordings’ from his extensive YouTube channel.

Links:
Richard's website: http://richardgjems.wix.com/richardgjems

Videos:

YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/c/RichardGjems

You Don’t Have To Go (rack playing):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyO4qobTuy8

Strange Love (vocals):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUZd3D2ExEs

Harmonica Didgeridoo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq6lbRX4lLM

Natural Minor Blues:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEFhWI_lfMM


Podcast website:
https://www.harmonicahappyhour.com

Donations:
If you want to make a voluntary donation to help support the running costs of the podcast then please use this link (or visit the podcast website link above):
https://paypal.me/harmonicahappyhour?locale.x=en_GB

Spotify Playlist: 
Also check out the Spotify Playlist, which contains most of the songs discussed in the podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5QC6RF2VTfs4iPuasJBqwT?si=M-j3IkiISeefhR7ybm9qIQ

Podcast sponsors:
This podcast is sponsored by SEYDEL harmonicas - visit the oldest harmonica factory in the world at www.seydel1847.com  or on Facebook or Instagram at SEYDEL HARMONICAS
and Blows Me Away Productions: http://www.blowsmeaway.com/

Chapters

• 0:59 Based in Norway, Richard got into the harmonica by hearing recordings played by his school teacher
• 1:35 Blues is popular in Norway, with over 80 Blues clubs
• 2:02 The harmonica players who inspired Richard when he started out
• 3:12 Richard is a cultural historian of the Blues and has contemplated it’s universal appeal
• 5:18 Believes music is an interconnected combination of lots of different parts
• 6:02 Music archiving carried out at the National Library in Norway
• 6:39 Differences in the use of harmonica in Scandinavian music
• 7:52 Material available from the library service (quite limited harmonica recordings)
• 8:53 Piano was Richard’s first instrument and advantages this brings to playing the harmonica
• 9:48 Also plays guitar and blues mandolin
• 10:50 Found it easier to develop own voice on harmonica
• 11:06 Drawing from different instruments to improve harmonica playing
• 11:20 Studying Chicago Blues guitarists to improve harmonica playing and playing it as an ensemble
• 12:46 Is an accomplished rack player, with some great Jimmy Reed songs on YouTube
• 14:16 Richard also been developing his singing
• 15:43 Rack playing helps you focus on the bare essentials on playing on a song
• 17:06 Good rack playing by Canadian Ray Bonneville
• 17:46 Poetic human voice element to the harmonica is one of its big appeals
• 18:50 Nordic folk music on harmonica, which is rooted in accordion playing
• 20:58 2009 album with pianist Tor Einar Bekken
• 21:36 Used to play more chromatic harmonica but prefers diatonic now
• 22:49 Album includes a jazz song, but doesn’t play much jazz
• 24:30 Looked into what makes Little Walter such an iconic harmonica player and pre-war harmonica
• 25:19 2013 Slaveriet album
• 30:38 Played with an electric band, Blatt Rom (Blue Room) which is amplified blues
• 32:49 Visited Chicago some years back to experience the Chicago blues scene in person
• 33:20 Richard has a YouTube channel with 100 videos, with a mixture of different material
• 34:12 Recordings from YouTube channel are being turned into an album
• 36:12 Has played with many notable Norwegian musicians
• 37:13 Has played with lots of well known harmonica players as they performed at a blues club in Oslo
• 38:14 Made extensive use of the harp-l mailing list in the early 1990s
• 38:27 Has done lots of session work, including films in Norway
• 39:56 TV appearances in Norway
• 41:31 10 minute question
• 42:31 How Richard chooses the correct tuning for a given song
• 44:08 The great French harmonica JJ Milteau uses the Dorian 2nd position tuned harmonica
• 45:07 Words of encouragement to people reluctant to try new tunings
• 46:16 Brendan Power’s new Modular Reed harmonicas, where individual reeds can be changed
• 47:34 Richard is cautious that harmonica modifications shouldn’t take away the essence of what makes a harmonica sound good
• 49:05 Is a Seydel endorser and what the company offers the customer
• 49:48 Likes to play low tuned harmonicas
• 51:18 Likes the quality of the tuning of the Hohner harmonicas and using different brands of harmonicas for a different sound
• 52:24 Overblows
• 52:45 Embouchre
• 53:15 Amps and mics
• 54:52 Set-up for recording
• 56:01 Effects pedals
• 56:47 Future plans