Buffalo Nichols

On his second album, The Fatalist, Carl “Buffalo” Nichols does things with the blues that might catch you off guard. There’s 808 programming, chopped up Charley Patton samples, washes of synth. There’s a consideration of the fullness of the sonic stage and the atmospherics of the music that can only come with a long engagement with electronic music. But this is no gimmicky hybrid or attempt to turn the blues into 21st century music by simply dressing it with skittering hi-hats. Nichols’ vision for the blues is of a form of music that’s intimately tied to everyday life in 2023, something that’s reflected not only in the choice of instrumentation, but in the complexities of the songwriting and the gray areas his lyrics explore. This is music that comes straight from the present, and as such, it’s a reminder that the same shit that drove the first blues singers to pick up a guitar is still present behind the throbs of deep bass hits today. The Fatalist sounds unlike any blues record you’re likely to hear in 2023.

We are always interested in musicians who take traditional forms and move them somewhere new. Experimentation is one of the primary ways artists figure out who they are in the world, bringing the past into meaningful relationship with the current moment. As audiences we come along for the ride, bringing our own love of a genre and our curiosity about where we are headed. Buffalo Nichols is doing that work with country-blues, taking familiar stories and forms and reinterpreting them through other facets of his own musicality. He’ll be coming to us with his fabulous trio hot off a busy summer festival season, including his set at MerleFest 2024. Come and listen.