Mike Dawes

Reinventing Guitar

If you haven’t heard of Mike Dawes, you are in for a treat, I’m about to introduce you to someone who will blow your mind, I first saw this guy on YouTube doing an interview with Rick Beato, it was a great interview, a lot of the time he will bring on musicians and just talk to them without letting them demonstrate their craft, but I commend Ricks interview with Mike because a lot of the time Mike let the guitar do the talking. After watching this interview, I was mesmerised, the effort Mike Dawes has put into creating his sound is incredible, the way he plays is incredible, but most importantly of all the sound is incredible!

Here is a clip of Mike doing an instrumental of the song ‘Somebody That I Used to Know’ By Gotye with another great guitarist Tommy Emanuel.

Dawes is redefining how an acoustic guitar is played, he is doing things on guitar I as a guitarist didn’t even know could be done, He is described as one of the pioneers of percussive playing, his performances are technically brilliant, with plenty of emotional depth that will capture your interest while you are entranced by the hypnotic blending of intricate harmonies and innovative melodies.

Mike Dawes picked up the guitar at a young age, originally drawn to rock and heavy metal. Mike put in his 10 thousand hours, mastering the fretboard while developing a very unique style and a passion for pushing the boundaries of what the instrument could do. Dawes became fascinated with fingerstyle playing, a technique that afforded him a fuller more complete sound.

This should be listened to with headphones!

I have seen a lot of percussive style acoustic players before, but I have never really been interested in the technique it all seemed a bit gimmicky for me, this being said the way Mike does it truly seems innovative, the technique allows the player to simulate an entire band, the percussive elements of the drum with basslines and vocal lines all being played at once, demonstrated here by Mikes version of ‘Jump’ by Van Halen.

Mikes debut album ‘What Just Happened’ (2013) introduced listeners to his dynamic playing style where he showcased his skills as a solo artist and as a collaborator, his imaginative covers demonstrate to me, he has mastered the art of percussive playing. In (2017) Dawes released ‘Era’ an album that solidified his place amongst the best and most unique acoustic players on the globe.

Dawes has collaborated with some of the best, the aforementioned Tommy Emanuel, Justin Hayward of ‘The Moody Blues’ with whom he regularly tours, and if there’s one place Mike Dawes shines it’s onstage!

Mike Dawes represents the future of a style of playing that has captured an audience of people that appreciate innovation, technical brilliance, virtuosity, in a nutshell the guy is a genius!

Regards

Patrick. M