"My hope is that the blues will never die. As much as it might fade away from the public domain, there will always be a Neck out there hollering and rambling. My fear, or rather, my discomfort, is the disrespect it gets, the systematic omission from our proverbial history books. I believe the blues should be studied as the greatest philosophy and artform of American history."

Neck Barham: New Roots "Trap Blues"

Nicolas Barham aka Neck Barham is a new blues artist, what put him on the music map is his unique sound that he coins "Trap Blues". There’s a common misconception there are only so many new roads certain music genres can travel. "Real Trap Blues" (2023), the new EP from Neck Barham, blows the notion the blues is a finite universe clean out of the water with a groundbreaking cross-pollination of pre-war blues and 21st Century trap beats that is as sonically infectious and addicting as any traditional blues record. “I came to Trap Blues as a sort of happy accident,” Barham relates. “It was my first time recording at the studio I now go to. I came in very stubbornly determined to record pre-war blues in a traditional way; live, one take (ideally), and with no overdubs. One of the engineers heard the first song and suggested adding trap beats to it. My initial reaction was quite protective and very much against it. I didn't want digitally generated beats, hi-hats or anything like that, I thought it diluted what I was going for and was just not my vision. So I did another take and these guys were eagerly throwing trap beats on it with no consideration of my opinion. But when I heard the playback, it worked beautifully and I immediately saw the value. I realized trap could be a vehicle to bring the pre-war sounds and philosophies into the modern domain. I did another song and, again, the trap beat worked; it wasn’t a fluke! It demonstrated to me this could be a distinctive and repeatable concept.”                               (Photo: Neck Barham)

While Barham’s songs conjure up the haunting vibes that inhabit so much of the pre-war blues canon, the infusion of trap spins them on their head and adds a new dimension that’s just unsettling enough to add emphasis without overwhelming their blues core. "To me, the blues is that uneasy feeling you get when you’re alone at night and something just isn’t right. It explores and romanticizes that thin line between good and evil. Although there’s about a hundred year gap between early blues and trap music, the two genres complement each other brilliantly and share a similar ethos. My mission is to use the modern attraction of trap music to resurrect the ghosts of blues.” Real Trap Blues doesn’t just resurrect those ghosts, it begs the question ‘did they ever really leave?'

Interview by Michael Limnios

What do you learn about yourself from the blues and what does the blues mean to you?

The blues is something I just can’t understand, and when it gets so mean it walks out just like a man. The closest I can come to describing my relationship with the blues is similar to how Albert King does in his song “I Can’t Hear Nothing but the Blues”. Birds sing pretty songs, the sound of the ocean can be soothing, and other styles of music are wonderful. But I, for better or worse, I can’t hear nothing but the blues.

What characterize and how did the idea of “Trap Blues” come about?

Trap Blues was a happy accident of my engineers experimenting with Trap beats over a typical blues song of mine. I saw the value and ran with it. I’d characterize it as just another way of the blues adapting to a new environment while staying true to its sound and doctrine.

How do you prepare for your recordings and performances to help you maintain both spiritual and musical stamina?

I typically book more hours than needed for studio sessions for this exact reason. I need at least an hour to sit down and socialize and feel at home and then another hour or ninety minutes of jamming, playing blues music for fun and getting in the grove before starting my session- A performance is no different. However, a joint and a few glasses of whiskey will also do the trick. With studio sessions, it just happens that sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, I’ve had to learn to know when to quit when the feeling just isn’t there and accept a time/financial sacrifice- This however, makes it even sweeter when everything clicks. With performing I don’t have a program like other artists or a specific set I work on, I just let the blues come to me the way it should.

"I’ve learnt that the music path to me is about learning the blues, immersing myself in its beautiful language and philosophy, discovering more, connecting more dots, no different than a PhD student and their topic. The blues is true, and therefore, there’s no reason to embellish, exaggerate or try to look for explanations. Just speak the blues (truth)!" (Photo: Neck Barham)

Are there any specific memories or highlights of your career that you would like to tell us about?

The most important memory I have with regards to the blues was the night I met the blues for the first time. I was 12 years old, rummaging through my parents’ old CD collection one night. They weren’t blues fans, but they collected disks from around the world and I happened to stumble upon a Memphis Slim CD called “The Blues is Everywhere”- The title was inciting and I recognized the standard “Kansas City” from a Beatles single. After literal moments of listening to his music I fell in love with the blues and worked my way from there.

What do you miss most nowadays from the blues of the past? What are your hopes and fears for the future of?

Not miss, because I wasn’t there, but the community back in the 1920’s- The royal blues families of the McCoys and Chatmans, things like that. My hope is that the blues will never die. As much as it might fade away from the public domain, there will always be a Neck out there hollering and rambling. My fear, or rather, my discomfort, is the disrespect it gets, the systematic omission from our proverbial history books. I believe the blues should be studied as the greatest philosophy and artform of American history.

What touched you from the act of One-Man Band? What's the balance in music between technique and soul?

To me being a solo artist offers introspective freedom. It reminds me a lot how John Lennon said he could truly express himself going solo in a way he couldn’t with The Beatles. Pre-war blues artists whose trade were just themselves and their guitar, have the most introspective and honest music I’ve ever heard. As for technique, there is no technique- It’s just soul. Although I wouldn’t call it soul, but rather allowing the ghosts of blues to take over. You could play the blues with one note and one string, or you can play it on a twelve string with complex patterns- Either way, if it’s the blues, it’s the blues. Like John Lee Hooker once said, one note will kill a man. It’s really all you need.

What is the impact of music on the socio-cultural implications? How do you want the music to affect people?

I can only speak to the blues really. If you take a prewar blues song individually, you might not learn a whole lot. However, in context of its entire catalogue, it teaches you an untold history of the early 20th century black American south. Everything from floods, diseases and lynchings to parties and love stories. The blues gives people a spoonful of stoicism to remedy their struggles in life. Allows them to fetishize hard times and pervert the good times.

"Trap Blues was a happy accident of my engineers experimenting with Trap beats over a typical blues song of mine."

(Photo: Neck Barham)

What are some of the most important lessons you have learned from your experience in the music path?

People often ask me, “how’s the music going” it’s really a pleasantry from when I haven’t seen someone for a while. How is the music going? I don’t know, I used to think about it from a career perspective- Do I have enough listeners and followers, am I “there yet”. I’ve learnt that the music path to me is about learning the blues, immersing myself in its beautiful language and philosophy, discovering more, connecting more dots, no different than a PhD student and their topic. The blues is true, and therefore, there’s no reason to embellish, exaggerate or try to look for explanations. Just speak the blues (truth)!

Neck Barham - Home