He plays slide guitar, harmonica, six-string banjo, cigar-box guitar and the Mohan Veena (a 20-stringed guitar/sitar hybrid). He studied for five years in India with Vishwa Mohan Bhatt.
Discography:
* Dog My Cat (2001)
* Wise and Otherwise (2002)
* Jubilee (with Kevin Breit) (2003)
* Road Ragas Live (2003)
* West Eats Meet (2004)
* Mantras For Madmen (2005)
* In Good We Trust (with Kevin Breit) (2007)
* Live at the Glenn Gould Studio (2008)
* Bread and Buddha (2009)
* Isle of Manx - the Desert Island Collection (2010)
More information at: Harry Manx.
Official Website Biography
“Mysticssippi” blues man Harry Manx has been called an “essential link” between the music of East and West, creating musical short stories that wed the tradition of the Blues with the depth of classical Indian ragas. He has created a unique sound that is hard to forget and deliciously addictive to listen to.
Harry forged his distinctive style by studying at the feet of the masters, first as a sound man in the blues clubs of Toronto during his formative years and then under a rigorous tutelage with Vishwa Mohan Bhatt in India. Bhatt is the inventor of the 20-stringed Mohan Veena, which has become Harry’s signature instrument.
Harry played slide guitar for many years before meeting Bhatt in Rajasthan,in fact he had been living in another part of India for many years already, but he started at the beginning under Bhatt’s tutelage, unlearning most of what he knew about playing a slide instrument. He learned Eastern scales and eventually ragas, deceptively complex and regimented musical patterns that form the basis of Indian composition. Learning the voicings of Indian music is a subtle art that comes with time. Harry spent most of twelve years in India learning that. It was later on that Harry decided to explore the connection between Indian ragas and blues scales which eventually led to the Indo-blues hybrid that has become his style.
Born on the Isle of Man, Manx immigrated to Ontario with his parents when he was a child. He started working with bands as a ‘roadie’ at age 15 and gradually worked his way up to becoming the regular sound man at the well-known El Mocambo (blues) club in Toronto. There he worked with a slew of blues legends. Harry admits that blues is still at the heart of much of his work. “I’ve always had one foot in the blues from those days … what I got from those artists is a groove. That’s what I’m particularly interested in is the groove, and that’s the way I play blues”. “I went to Europe when I was 20 and started making money as a busker,” recalls Manx. “I’ve worked mostly as a musician since then, though I did some theatre work for a while. I was a one-man band with a drums and a cymbals for a time too. It was really a lot of fun”
Manx’s time in India has imbued his music with an intangible spiritual quality. “the song reveals who you are, it’s the vehicle for your message, your inspirational ideas or your story,” explained Manx. “Like many people I’m interested in my own development as a person and that’s represented in my songs, I’m searching for truth through art and spirituality. My songs are a synthesis of everything I’ve absorbed, all my experiences and I share that. I’m glad that it means something to people.”
“Indian music moves a person inward,” he explains. “It’s traditionally used in religious ceremonies and during meditations because it puts you into this whole other place (now, here). But Western music has the ability to move you outward, into celebration and dance. There are some ragas that sound bluesy, and there are ways to bend strings while playing blues that sound Indian. I may be forcing the relationship between the two musical cultures, but I keep thinking they were made for each other. That leads me to more and more experimentation. The journey has been great so far.” Manx is a prolific artist, releasing 12 albums in a 12 year span with no signs of stopping. He has received seven Maple Blues Awards, six Juno nominations, the Canadian Folk Music Award in 2005 for Best Solo Artist and won CBC Radio’s “Great Canadian Blues Award” in 2007.
His most recent original release, “Om Suite Ohm” was voted by the Montreal daily La Presse as one of only 4 CDs to watch for in 2013. Guitar Player Magazine called it “his most fully realized work to date”. Blend Indian folk melodies with slide guitar blues, add a sprinkle of gospel and throw in some compelling grooves. It’s a recipe that goes down easy and leaves you hungry for more.
Official Website: Harry Manx
Coat of Mail
Harry Manx Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lives upstairs at the Yale
You can call him a good friend of mine
He was taken down by the man at his door
Cloak of desperation, got wrapped around his soul
Sew him a coat of mail
Send him the wind to sail
Sew him a coat of mail
I stood below your window, some things I understood
Out in the world's a struggle, every man needs a plan
You can listen without words, its not everyone can see
But I recognize your eyes, yeah they once belonged to me
You walk the streets at sunrise, no matter where you turn
There's questions without answers, they continue to burn
It's a fine, fine thread gonna keep you in this place
Well I see you sound yourself something
Cause it's written on your face
In Harry Manx's song Coat of Mail, he sings about a friend of his who is struggling in the welfare line. The friend is described as an honest man who lives upstairs at the Yale, and is taken down by the man at his door. The man's soul is wrapped in a cloak of desperation, leaving him feeling lost and helpless. In response to this, Harry Manx wants to sew him a coat of mail, something that will protect him from the harsh realities of the world and make everything alright. He wants to send him the wind to sail and give him hope for a better future.
The lyrics of Coat of Mail speak to the struggles that many people face in life, particularly those who are struggling financially. The song is a call to action to help those in need, to show compassion and understanding, and to offer a helping hand. It is a reminder that we are all in this together, and that we must look out for one another.
Overall, Coat of Mail is a powerful and emotional song that speaks to the struggles and challenges that many people face in life. It is a call to action for compassion and kindness, and a reminder that we must always look out for one another.
Line by Line Meaning
There's an honest man I know in the welfare line
I am familiar with a truthful person who is waiting for welfare assistance
Lives upstairs at the Yale
He resides above the Yale, a prominent establishment
You can call him a good friend of mine
Consider him as my respectable friend
He was taken down by the man at his door
He was brought down by the person who knocked at his entrance
Cloak of desperation, got wrapped around his soul
A robe of hopelessness enfolded his spirit
Sew him a coat of mail
Fashion a protective covering for him
Make it all alright
Make everything better
Send him the wind to sail
Provide him with means to progress
I stood below your window, some things I understood
I stayed beneath your window, comprehending some aspects of your situation
Out in the world's a struggle, every man needs a plan
There's a fight outside, and everyone requires a strategy
You can listen without words, it's not everyone can see
You can perceive without speaking; some cannot fathom
But I recognize your eyes, yeah they once belonged to me
I identify your eyes, yes, they were previously mine
You walk the streets at sunrise, no matter where you turn
You walk the roads at daybreak, all directions lead to the same place
There's questions without answers, they continue to burn
There are uncertainties with no resolutions, that persistently trouble us
It's a fine, fine thread gonna keep you in this place
A delicate, tenuous connection shall hold you in this location
Well I see you sound yourself something
I perceive that you've secured something for yourself
Cause it's written on your face
Because it's evident on your countenance
Contributed by Jayden E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.