Tones Behind The Tracks

Cedric Burnside learnt at the knee of his fabled grandfather, but his latest album is a hill country blues masterclass on his own terms

Artist: Cedric Burnside

Album: Hill Country Love (Provogue/Mascot)

To those familiar with Mississippi's distinct strain of hill country blues, Burnside is a name that carries weight. The big bang that started it all was the late RL, whose hypnotic grooves were the stuff of cult legend for more than half a century. But of the Burnside progeny keeping the hill country sound alive, few are rising faster than 45-year-old Cedric, who now follows 2021's Grammy-winning I Be Trying with latest studio album, Hill Country Love. "To God be the glory," he demurs, modestly, of this acclaimed new release, but the propulsive pulse of his guitar work surely deserves credit, too.

For the benefit of anyone who is so far uninitiated in Mississippi's hill country blues, what characterises the sound of that sub-genre for you?

"Well, for one, to me, I think it's really about the unorthodox rhythm of hill country blues. It sounds way different than any other blues that you might listen to. I'm from the little town of Tullahoma and the music in this area is just something all of its own. It's kinda hard to explain. It's really hard to even put it down on paper. Most music you can read off paper, but with hill country blues, I think it's kinda impossible to even try to write it or read it. My big daddy [Cedric's grandfather, RL Burnside] used to call it 'field music' and that's because those cats just played a good guitar, and they played it from their heart. Sometimes there wasn't any changes, y'know? And then sometimes they might put a change in there. But you don't hear the 'I-IV-V' in hill country blues, hardly any."

Can you tell us how your family connection with RL has fed into your own music?