Ghalia Vauthier, known professionally as Ghalia Volt, is a Belgian

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...

singer, guitarist, drummer and songwriter. She has been involved in the release of five albums since 2016, including ''Mississippi Blend'' (2019) released on

Ruf Records Ruf Records is a German independent record label, which was founded in 1994 by Luther Allison’s manager, Thomas Ruf, to promote Allison's career. The motto of the blues label is "Where Blues Crosses Over". The company's office is located in L ...

. It peaked at number three on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Top Blues Albums Chart.

Career

She was born in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, Belgium. She began her musical journey

busking Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuity, gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performa ...

on the streets of her nation's capital city. Volt went on to front Ghalia & The Naphtalines, a rhythm and blues outfit and then joined company with Voodoo Casino, with whom she recorded her first album in 2016. However her desire to trace the roots of blues music saw her travel to the United States, where she began busking in 2013. She traversed around taking in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

and

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, and then the

Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion of the Southern United States. The term is used to describe the states which were most economically dependent on Plantation complexes in the Southern United States, plant ...

. Her familiar presence in

Clarksdale, Mississippi Clarksdale is a city in and the county seat of Coahoma County, Mississippi, Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. It is located along the Sunflower River. Clarksdale is named after John Clark, a settler who founded the city in the mid-19t ...

, saw her take part in the town's own musical event, the Sunflower River Blues & Gospel Festival, for three consecutive years. In early 2016, Volt met up with the

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

–based band, Johnny Mastro & Mama's Boys. This led to a collaboration, resulting in the release of ''Let the Demons Out'' (2017). It assisted in helping to establish her presence in the United States. The German

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

heard some demo tracks and arranged a full recording at studios in New Orleans. On the strength of the issue of ''Let the Demons Out'', Volt and her backing band played at concerts in the United States and in parts of Europe. ''Let the Demons Out'' peaked at number 29 ''

'' Top Blues Albums Chart in early 2018. Wishing to embrace the feelings and style of

hill country blues Hill country blues (also known as North Mississippi hill country blues or North Mississippi blues) is a regional style of country blues. It is characterized by a strong emphasis on rhythm and percussion, steady guitar riffs, few chord changes, ...

on her own, Volt sought out recording facilities at the Luther and Cody Dickinson owned Zebra Ranch, in

Coldwater, Mississippi Coldwater is a town in Tate County, Mississippi, United States, and is part of the Memphis Metropolitan Area. The population was 1,677 at the 2010 census. History The town square of Coldwater is approximately two miles south of the Coldwater R ...

. The resultant album, ''Mississippi Blend'' (2019), included contributions from Cody Dickinson and

Cedric Burnside Cedric O. Burnside (born August 26, 1978)'' Jefferson'' interview. Issue 141, March 2004Swedish original, via Google Translate is an American electric blues guitarist, drummer, singer and songwriter. He is the son of blues drummer Calvin Jackson ...

sharing percussion duties, with

Watermelon Slim William P. Homans III, (born 1949) professionally known as "Watermelon Slim", is an American blues musician. He plays both guitar and harmonica. He is currently signed to NorthernBlues Music, based in Toronto, Ontario. Homans has also earned bach ...

supplying harmonica work on five tracks. Volt was the vocalist on every number and also played lead (often

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...

) or rhythm guitar. She also wrote six of the tracks and co-wrote three others. The set included her version of "

Wade in the Water "Wade in the Water" is an African-American spiritual, the lyrics of which were first co-published in 1901 in ''New Jubilee Songs as Sung by the Fisk Jubilee Singers'' by Frederick J. Work and his brother, John Wesley Work Jr. The Sunset Fou ...

". The album peaked at number three on three separate occasions on the ''Billboard'' Top Blues Albums Chart. In March 2020, at the outset of the

COVID-19 pandemic in the United States On December 31, 2019, China announced the discovery of a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan. The first American case was reported on January 20, and United States Department of Health and Human Services, Health and Human Services Secreta ...

, Volt had to decide how to proceed. She stated that a one-woman approach may be a possibility, "I started playing on a real drum set, playing a kick, snare and hi-hat plus a tambourine with my two feet, while playing slide/guitar and singing at the same time". She tried the formula at shows in

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

and, by August, had committed to that approach. As inspiration for her song writing, Volt decided to travel for a month by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

across an ever changing landscape afforded by

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

and back to Mississippi. Volt recorded that November in the

Royal Studios Royal Studios is a recording studio located in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Established in 1956, it is one of the oldest continuously operated music recording studios in the world. It is widely known for producer, recording artist and owne ...

in Memphis, Tennessee. The album was recorded in real time without any multi-tracking, with Volt providing the bulk of the instrumentation. Her guests included Dean Zucchero, who provided bass guitar on two sides, while

Monster Mike Welch Monster Mike Welch (born June 11, 1979) is an American electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was nominated for a Blues Music Award in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Welch has released seven albums to date, and is a former member of Sugar ...

added his guitar expertise to a couple of tracks including, "Evil Thoughts". Her own material predominated, but she did include her version of the

blues standard Blues standards are blues songs that have attained a high level of recognition due to having been widely performed and recorded. They represent the best known and most interpreted blues songs that are seen as standing the test of time. Blues s ...

, "

It Hurts Me Too "It Hurts Me Too" is a blues standard, regarded as one of the most interpreted songs in the genre. First recorded in 1940 by Tampa Red, the song is a mid-tempo eight-bar blues that features slide guitar. It borrows from earlier blues songs a ...

". Volt also co-produced the album with

Lawrence "Boo" Mitchell Lawrence "Boo" Mitchell is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, audio engineer, and owner of Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. He is best known for his work with Al Green, Solomon Burke, Anthony Hamilton, Rod Stewart, John Mayer ...

. The album was released on January 29, 2021, on Ruf Records. In August 2021, Volt undertook a four song long, 'Jam in the Van' live recording, in

Mammoth Lakes, California Mammoth Lakes is the only incorporated town in Mono County, California, United States. It is located immediately to the east of Mammoth Mountain, at an elevation of . As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 7,191, reflecting a ...

; the results of which were released as an EP.

Discography

Albums and EPs

References

External links

Ghalia Volt and Songwriting's Beautiful Mess : Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Volt, Ghalia Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Belgian blues singers Belgian women singers Belgian blues guitarists Belgian women guitarists Belgian women songwriters Musicians from Brussels Belgian drummers Belgian women drummers 21st-century Belgian women singers 21st-century Belgian singers Belgian singer-songwriters Belgian women singer-songwriters Blues singer-songwriters Blues rock musicians Country blues musicians Ruf Records artists