THE COUNTRY SIDE OF HARMONICA SAM
The Country Side of Harmonica Sam represents a rare and unique branch of contemporary country music. This is country music like it sounded in the late 50s and early 60s; more modern sounding than the 40s Hillbilly style sometimes seen on the rockabilly scene around Europe. At the same time, it’s far from the contemporary Nashville sound of country music. With steady 4/4 shuffles, steel guitar, and tictac bass, the band performs their own original songs right alongside classics from Faron Young, Skeets McDonald, Bill Phillips, Billy Walker, and Ray Price–to name a few.
The band consists of Peter Andersson (pedal steel), Ulrik Jansson (upright bass), Patrik Malmros (drums – August 2023), Robert Skoglund (drums August 2023 –), Johan Bandling Melin (lead guitar/harmony vocals) and Harmonica Sam (lead vocals/ rhythm guitar). With origins in the blues scene in the mid-90s, Harmonica Sam soon took an interest in 50s rock and country music. His debut album under his own name, "Rocker #1," released on Enviken Records in 2008, featured piano rocker Boppin’ Steve and The Domestic Bumblebees. In 2009, during a show, Sam crossed paths with pedal steel player Peter Andersson, who had a longstanding history of playing western swing and country music with Ulrik Jansson and Patrik Malmros. Johan Bandling Melin, a talented songwriter from the bluegrass scene, also joined, and they all teamed up to form The Country Side of Harmonica Sam.
In 2013 the band released a 7” single, "Changing Her Thinking," which created a buzz among country music and rockabilly fans. In 2015 the band went to Berlin and Lightning Recorders to record their debut album "Open Letter to the Blues." For their second album, "A Drink After Midnight," they chose to record at the local Gula Studion in Malmö, Sweden. The release of the first single from "A Drink After Midnight" in 2016, became a major dance floor hit on the retro scene across Europe with the B-side "Lookout Heart." Their third album "Broken Bottle, Broken Heart" debuted in 2019, featuring the single "My First Broken Heart (Since My Last Broken Heart)/If That’s the Way It’s Gotta Be." The single "Tell Her/This Train" was released on September 1, 2023, and the full album "Back to the Blue Side" on September 29, 2023.
The Country Side of Harmonica Sam achieved notable recognition by winning the "Honky Tonk Group" category at the Ameripolitan Music Awards 2020 in Memphis, Tennessee.
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