Rural Jamaican bluesman Brushy One String puts the world to rights with his one-stringed guitar. His voice evokes the sweetness of soul singers like Percy Sledge and Louis Armstrong, the grit and wit of Delta bluesmen, all woven together with a Jamaican pulse and ingenuity that shows that the island’s music is about far more than reggae. He combines blues with heartfelt dance-hall vocals and channels a soulful intensity and profound faith.
There’s something in Brushy’s gritty, warm voice, in his pensive words and upbeat grooves, that hits at the heart and comes from somewhere profound: “It makes me tingle inside when I sing the songs that I’m singing, because they come from the soul. I’m singing, my voice is there and my guitar is there, but my mind, soul, and body are transcending,” notes Brushy.“It’s like someone’s speaking through me.”