Happy New Year!

Well, it's announcement time: for the past few years, there have been several Roundabouts about; henceforth, there shall be just one. For live purposes in 2014, Roundabout will continue as an instrumental trio, but with a line-up combining the two best-known ones: Raul Terep on drums, Andres Roots on guitar and Peeter Piik on bass. The band would like to thank Martin Eessalu for his three years with Roundabout and wish him the best of luck with his other projects, of which there are many - most of all, we're all hoping to hear a MOduo album soon!



Raul, Peeter and Andres first played together as a unit in 2005, backing New Orleans piano player Eddie Baytos on the road and recording Bullfrog Brown's breakthrough album "Snakes and Devils". The trio will be returning to the studio shortly for several new projects - with and without guest vocalists. The gig schedule is currently being updated: the new band's first full-length concert will take place at Volga7 in Tartu on February 7th, but it looks like shorter sets can be heard much sooner: in Tallinn on January 8th and in Tartu on January 23rd. Watch this space for details ;)

Happy New Year!!!

Looking Back: 2013

2013 has been a good year - and certainly a busy one! Between January 10th and November 5th, Andres Roots played 51 gigs with 13 different band line-ups in 4 different countries, 21 different towns, and 41 different venues - and by different we mean seriously varied: from the Estonia Concert Hall in Tallinn, Estonia to the Parks Jazz Club in Valmiera, Latvia, from Mikkeli Prison in Finland to the Haroldswick Hall in Unst, Shetland/Scotland/the UK... 

Those 51 shows included sets at 7 music festivals: Guitar Jamboree, UnderGround Blues, Ugriblues, and Augustibluus in Estonia, Saimaa Blues in Finland, Sigulda Blues in Latvia, and Shetland Blues in the UK. In addition to the various Roundabout line-ups, Andres toured with Ismo Haavisto (FIN), Steve Lury (UK), and was seen jamming with Tuomari Nurmio (FIN). There were 4 live appearances recorded for TV and aired via 3 different channels in 2 different countries, plus 1 official music video directed by Asko-Romé Altsoo. Andres appeared on 8 releases on 5 different labels in 3 different countries (see discography section), and his profile was included in a guitar textbook for schools.

Since this summer, Roots Art Records CD's have been distributed in Estonia and Finland by Playground Music, and there are several releases being scheduled for 2014. The first live Roundabout show of 2014 will be at the legendary Volga in Tartu, Estonia on February 7th and will feature a new line-up, to be properly announced and introduced on December 31st. Until then - happy holidays! :)

At White Room studios in Tartu. Photo by Asko-Romé Altsoo.

Best Blues Instrumental Album of 2013!

Canada's Blues Underground Network has just posted its annual Year End Review - with "Three!" included as the "Best Blues Instrumental Album" of 2013. Cheers! :)

Christmas News

All right, as it's nearly Christmas and everybody and his cousin are flogging their albums 24/7, let's get it over with - here's what critics have said about the latest Andres Roots Roundabout release "Three!":

"An absolute must to discover...the best instrumental album in years." - Rootstime (Belgium)

"Takes what you thought about the Blues to a whole new level." - Blues Underground Network (Canada)
 
"A creative album full of surprises." - BluesMagazine (The Netherlands)

"A joyous album fit for dancing." - Soul Bag (France)

"One of the most entertaining and versatile instrumental albums... and not just for guitar players." - Wasser-Prawda (Germany)

"The blues of Andres Roots are always a joy to hear." - Muusika (Estonia)

And you can find it on iTunes, Spotify etc. or order a hard-copy version here: international orders / local orders. Thank you and Merry Christmas! :)

Two Live Tracks!

On November 5th, Andres Roots, Peeter Piik and Raul Terep recorded two tracks live at ETV studios in Tallinn for a Tähelaev episode devoted to the chairman of the Estonian Writers' Union, Mr. Karl Martin Sinijärv. He picked the band, and the band picked these previously unavailable tunes :)





The show aired on December 1st.

Station Blues

Here's a rare solo performance, recorded live on June 29th during the vernissage of Alar Madisson's outdoors photo exhibition in Tartu.