For several years Kapa Montonen has played and composed many kinds of music but his roots still lay firmly with the blues. It is and has been his passion and a guideline for him as a guitar player. Finally with the right songs and some great fellow musicians it was time to fulfill his dream and make an album. This album is a versatile selection of his music; blues, rock and some melodic tracks spiced up with funk and soul. Kapa Montonen is a Finnish composer and guitar player. 'Routes to Roots' is his first blues rock album containing 12 great new songs. Besides being a talented composer Kapa Montonen is a dazzling guitar player who really makes the songs groove. His performance is really strong and together with the Bluesment Brothers provides an excellent music experience. REVIEWS Artist: Kapa Montonen and the Bluesment Brothers Single: Routes to Roots Review By: Dan MacIntosh It's always fascinating when musicians from other countries interpret American music and give it right back to them. That's exactly what happens with Kapa Montonen and the Bluesment Brothers, which is a fairly traditional sounding blues outfit from Finland of all places. When Montonen plays lead guitar, which he does extremely well throughout this twelve track album, he could be just about any North American blues guy - at least based upon how his ax work sounds. However, when he sings, his accent sometimes sneaks through. This is especially apparent during Dark Medicine where the word medicine? becomes medi-seen,? instead. Nevertheless, even with his sometimes strong accent, Montonen's voice sounds a lot like another famous blues guitarist/singer/songwriter, Eric Clapton. While these songs all sound straight out of the blues classic songbook, Montonen actually had a hand in writing every one of them. He had help on many, but his last name is listed on each credit. Many of these co-writers are also his fellow Bluesment Brothers, which include Jyrki Jay Tulppo, on bass and vocals, August M. Montonen at the drums and Ari Korpisalo on keyboards. This quartet is also augmented by horns in places, as well as Tiina Bolz and Katja Bengtsson on backing vocals. There is a relatively wide range of blues style represented on Routes to Roots. For instance, Burning Eyes borrows, but does not steal, from Jimi Hendrix's Purple Haze. Trouble Hill Blues is slow blues, whereas My Sun and My Moon leans closer to a blues-rocker. Montonen ramps up the horn section to 11 during Soulmate, which comes off a little like Eric Clapton fronting Dire Straits. It features some really nice guitar and organ interplay, as well. This track also puts Tiina Bolz's and Katja Bengtsson's backing vocals to good use, so you might say it takes an everything but the kitchen sink? instrumental approach. It's a little tough to accept Montonen as an evil dude during Bad One, yet it's easy to get into the song's soulful groove. This track is one of the album's smoother inclusions. When Montonen sings about his battle with the devil, he does so in a way that brings Robert Cray's ultra cool blues immediately to mind. Nowadays, all the kids are into The Black Keys, almost as though these young musicians invented the blues. The two guys in The Black Keys wouldn?t suggest such a silly thing. However, it's sad how little our present generation knows about blues music. If they?d listen to Kapa Montonen, however, they?d get themselves a proper education on some of the blues? history. Montonen may prefer the rollicking louder sounds of electrified blues, but he shows an equal aptitude with lighter varieties. Give It a Try is an excellent example of how to perform a more subtle form of the blues; one that swings rather than wails. The organ solo on it uses a lighter, jazzier feel as well. It's a nice little change of pace. The fact that musicians from Finland can play blues music so authentically is undeniable evidence that this great American musical style has touched such a huge swath of the planet. Some might wish that Montonen would get a voice teacher to help him sound more A
