After the Storm

When Hurricane Katrina rolled into New Orleans ten years ago, it left the city and its people devastated for years to come. The storm also inspired several works of music, art and entertainment, most notably "Treme", the acclaimed drama series documenting the people's efforts to get on with their lives after the disaster. One of Katrina's actual survivors was soul singer Willie West, and with "After The Storm" it's his turn to tell a story of what happened.

West digs deep into the emotive part of his memories of what it felt like to leave the destroyed city, his birthplace and musical home. His experience is condensed in its rawest form in the expression "that hurricane gave me the blues", something he still seems to carry around ten years after. The track's lyric is mournful, but the gentle musical backing by The Soul Investigators gives it a light-as-Sunday-morning mood. The track is a perfect pick for all lovers of deep soul ballads, the style that Willie is most at easy with.

For a man, who started his career in music already in the 1950's, Willie West keeps keeping up a surprisingly steady and quality-chocked pace, but what other can be expected from the unsung legend of NOLA soul music. This year his single on Timmion Records "I'm Still A Man (Lord Have Mercy)" was featured in the film "Paterson" by Jim Jarmusch, which had its premier in this year's Cannes Film Festival. The film has received a warm critical welcome and will be out in theaters later in 2016.