Roots of Blues by Karim Albert Kook & Édouard Bineau is a living, breathing walk through the dusty, sweat-soaked avenues of American music history, told through the lens of two musicians whose cultural journeys mirror the blues’ own restless migration. Across twelve tracks, the duo offers reverent yet reimagined takes on classic blues standards, channeling the essence of the genre while pouring in their own heritage, grit, and emotion.
The album opens with “Rolling and Tumbling,” with relaxed guitar strums, while Édouard Bineau’s harmonica flutters in with a vibrant swing. Karim Albert Kook’s raspy vocals enter like a seasoned storyteller who’s seen more than he lets on—animated, emphatic, and steeped in conviction. He delivers each line with urgency, as if the story must be told now or not at all.
By the time we get to “Hoochie Coochie Man,” the mood has shifted. Kook leans fully into swagger and bravado, his voice thick and assured, striding through the lyrics. Bineau’s harmonica on this track is a slithering character of its own, sliding and snapping in quick, sharp bursts.
“Trouble in Mind” lays bare the sensitivity of the song. The harmonica slows and sighs with every note, like a companion dragging its feet beside a weary traveler. Kook’s husky voice softens into something wounded yet hopeful. “But I won’t be blue always,” he sings, letting the lyric come on.
Roots of Blues reclaims it, reinterprets it, and makes it new again. Listen to it on Spotify.
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Review by: Naomi Joan