"House Arrest 3" Available Now!

The third and most probably the last installment in the lockdown home recordings series, "House Arrest 3", is now available on Bandcamp: to listen and/or purchase, just click HERE!

"Bear Hunt" Music Now Online!

Originally performed at the 20/20 Film Festival in Tartu, Estonia in November 2019, Andres Roots' musical accompaniment for Johannes Pääsuke's 1914 silent film "The Bear Hunt in Pärnu County" is now online, thanks to the Estonian Embassy in London.



The initiative came as part of the Embassy's #time4estonia Facebook series where you can discover Estonian artists, writers, musicians, architecture, cities, museums, galleries, nature etc. Due to the lockdown, Andres Roots recorded the acoustic music at home - the same way he's cut his recent "House Arrest" EP's.  

New EP Online!

"House Arrest 2" is now available via Bandcamp - 5 previously unreleased instrumental tracks recorded at home over the Easter weekend!

Don't go bananas - buy the EP!

Pärnu Winter Blues & Jazzrytmit Story

The Pärnu winter blues festival Blue Icicle will kick off on Friday, February 1 at the Pärnu Yacht Club, with Andres Roots, Jānis Vanadziņš, Randal Randoja, and Peeter Prints. Saturday's concert at Nooruse Maja will feature Latvian blues artists exclusively. In Tartu, Andres Roots and Randal Randoja will appear at Kolm Tilli on Thursday, February 7th, where they are joined by the Italian one man band J.D. Addams.

Meanwhile, the Finnish jazz webzine Jazzrytmit has published the Andres Roots interview, originally conducted for RollFM by the legendary photographer Risto Vuorimies last fall in Tartu, along with a bunch of photos he took there. Click here to check it out!

Photo by Risto Vuorimies.

        

Walden T550 with a Liivamägi Classic pickup. Photo by Risto Vuorimies.

Eero Palusalu, Andres Roots, Risto Vuorimies. Photo by Risto Vuorimies.

Hiiumaa & New Tune

The Sawmill Roots Orchestra had a blast in Emmaste, Hiiumaa this Friday and hope to return to the lovely island next summer, if not before. While we wait for the band to complete their first studio recordings (watch this space!), here's a solo cut Andres recorded this summer, taking his ZT Lunchbox into the studio for the first time...

Guitar Jamboree Tomorrow, Free Single Next Week!

On Friday, March 22nd, Andres Roots & Peeter Piik will be performing two tunes at the annual rock'n'roll guitarists' showcase Guitar Jamboree @ Von Krahl in Tallinn; they will be joined by Rauno Pella of the Jamboree house band on drums.

 





















On Tuesday, March 26th, just as Andres & Peeter will be travelling to Finland to start their Muddy Waters tribute tour with Ismo Haavisto & Matias Partanen, the topical Ismo Haavisto & Andres Roots single "Muddy Waters/Morganfield Blues" will be released as a FREE DOWNLOAD. So check back here on Tuesday for the download link - or get it from www.ismohaavisto.com!






And finally: Kristo Käo has a new guitar instruction book out, intended for the new guitar-heavy Estonian school curriculum. On page 66, there's a familiar face with a familiar Walden guitar ;)

UK Pics, Finnish Tour TBA

First and foremost, the opening of the Illegaard live music season on October 11th was a blast - thanks to all who attended!

The first show of Roundabout's January 2013 Finnish tour has been announced: Wednesday, January 23rd @ Shipyard Club (Nosturi) in Helsinki, with MOduo. More dates and band combinations TBA soon!

Here's three pics from the Sept. 27th show @ Liverpool's legendary Lomax club, where bands like Radiohead, Muse, Oasis and Coldplay used to play - photos by Frank Hedges:

 

And here's a few from the Roots & Fusion session at Quarry Bank Mill - photos by Jason Powell:

    

Last but not least, the "Electric Dixieland" EP is #17 on the French Blues Radios' airplay chart - that takes quite a few spins, so merci beaucoup! :)

Download Full Roots & Fusion Session!

The Andres Roots Roundabout session for Rick Stuart's Roots & Fusion, recorded live at Quarry Bank Mill & Styal Estate on September 28th and aired on Stockport's Pure 107.8FM on October 3rd, is now available as a podcast - stream it here!

The tracklist is:

1. "Rick Stuart's Blues"
2. "Shades"
3. "Room Service"
4. "Build Me A Statue"
5. "The Other Rhumba"
6. "Wagon Swing"
7. band interview

The band for the UK tour consisted of Andres Roots & Martin Eessalu on Walden T550 guitars and Raul Terep on drums. Those interested can tune in to Kuma Radio on Monday, October 8th, as Roots will be discussing the trip with the legendary Andres Põllu some time between 5 and 7 p.m. (GMT +2). A detailed account of the Liverpool-Stockport-Manchester mini-tour is also rumoured to be published in the Kitarr magazine early next year...   

Live On ETV

Here are the two tracks performed live at ETV studios in Tallinn for the "Tähelaev" show, broadcast nationally on Sept. 9 - used by permission!

Slide Guitar Course Poster

Poster design and photo by Siret Roots.

More Reviews & New Walden Catalogue

Blues-Finland.com has published an alt.blues special, focussing on three international releases recorded at the White Room in Tartu, Estonia in 2011: "The Hollow Log..." by L.R.Phoenix (UK/FIN), "Leigh's Spider Jam" by the Andres Roots Roundabout, and "The Darkness of My Mind"/"Soul of a Man" vinyl single by Red Mouth (USA). The article is in Finnish and Marko Aho has many nice things to say about both albums that feature the Roundabout band, describing "LSJ" as "considerably more relaxed than its predecessor... luckily it's just the feel and not the quality that's been loosened up"!

British critic Grahame Rhodes has done an in-depth review of "LSJ" for Bluesinthenorthwest.com and, among other things, points out the "fine piano work from Ahti Bachblum", "lovely strings courtesy of Asko-Rome Altsoo and Hanno Maadra" and "the very sweet and lovely toned harmonica of Indrek Tiisel", concluding with "beautifully recorded and played by all concerned... more top class ‘Blues from the Baltic’!"



Meanwhile, the 2012 Walden Guitars catalogue pictured above is now available online and soon in print. More live dates for February and March TBA shortly!