Australia continues to carve out a rich tradition of excellent blues musicians and artists, a history which stretches back into the 1950’s and continues to this very day, and is seemingly going from strength to strength.
To that end, winners of the solo/duo section of the 2024 Sydney Blues Challenge, Nathan Beretta and Dan Sullivan are set to release their debut LP, The Loft Recordings, and on the back of that win are heading to Memphis, Tennessee for the International Blues Challenge in early 2025.
Both men are regulars on the blues festival circuit and pubs and clubs around Australia, with Nathan Beretta playing with his bands, Blue Eye Cry and Nathan Beretta Band, while Dan Sullivan has fronted Tomcat Playground and is a member of The Frank Sultana Band.
The two have now joined forces to create a new project, Beretta and Sullivan, that pays homage to the best of traditional blues music.
The Loft Recordings, their first full-length album, is 10 tracks of pure blues nirvana, all of which were penned by the duo. From swampy blues through to a French Quarter feel (listen to I’ll Confess), The Loft Recordings draws from both pre, and post-WWII styles whilst seamlessly fitting together to make a delightfully coherent listen.
Classic blues subject matter is par for the course across the album, with themes of desire (If You Don’t Mind, Madeline), love gone wrong (Home Is On Fire, You Don’t Love Me Right) and alcohol (Cocaine & Whiskey, Old Green Label) all being enveloped in the dynamic interplay of blues guitar and harmonica so expertly created by Beretta and Sullivan.
The most impressive thing about this album, aside the actual playing, is the perfection of the duet, with both Nathan and Dan individually sharing the limelight, while each provides a complementary balance within each song, with neither the guitar or harmonica dominating the overall sound. However, the musicianship from the duo is delightfully intricate, tasteful and authentic throughout.
The legendary Charlie Musselwhite has even said of the album, “Some mighty fine blues……I ain’t lying” – high praise indeed from one of the finest purveyors of the blues/blues harmonica. This is certainly testament to the great, classic song-writing that has gone into each and every song on the recording.
I am even going to go out on a limb and say that the album opens with a song which should turn into a modern Australian blues classic, the sublime Cocaine & Whiskey.
The Loft Recordings was recorded at Frank Sultana’s Loft Studio and mastered by Syd Green (ex-19-Twenty drummer). It is currently available to purchase as a digital download via the duo’s Bandcamp page and from January 1st, 2025 will be available on CD from the duo’s Facebook page or the Bandcamp page.
Feature image: As supplied
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