As huge Jimi Hendrix and Ari Joshua fans, you can imagine our excitement to hear the news that Ari had covered the iconic song Voodoo Chile. Now, Ari’s multidisciplinary artistry and guitar work is a masterclass in music creation, so we had a feeling that we would be in for a sonic surprise with the release.
The cover kicks off with a cerebral, trippy guitar work which feels akin to a psychedelic trip into another dimensional. The performance rivals the original in creative essence, but also in finger work. It’s no small feat to cover a Jimi song, so there is no doubt that Ari’s intention was clear from the outset to ensure that he did it not only justice, but made it his own – and the results are tangible.
In case you didn’t know, Voodoo Chile started as a candid jam session, and eventually became one of the most iconic songs in Hendrix’s discography. The song was a fan favourite during his career and remains one of his most memorable (and most drawn-out) vocal and guitar performances. This is brought to life masterfully by Ari and his collaborators.
The lyrics of are filled with references to voodoo magic and religion, providing plenty of haunting images throughout the song. Ari and Jimi sing about being a “voodoo child,” which confirms their shares belief in magic and superstition. This is a quality that transpires in Ari Joshua’s wider discography, which has always had a conscious and psychedelic edge, so it is inspiring to not only have this confirmation, but see it manifest with this cover.
“You don’t just play Hendrix – you conjure his spirit,” Ari Joshua confesses. We learn that the take on Voodoo Chile was done in a single recording and no doubt retains all the aura and electrifying energy of the original.
The cover features Ari Joshua slaying on guitar and vocals, Russ Lawton brings to life his kinetic energy on drums, Ray Paczkowski manifests intricacy on keys, whilst Ben Collette heads up tracking at Tank Recording, Jonathan Plum shares his skill as mixing engineer at Mat London Bridge Studios, with Joe Lambert‘s expert mastering. The artwork illustration was created by Burgandy Viscosi, whilst Monte Mitchel at Forest Shore Designs designed the layout.
We have added Ari Joshua‘s version of Voodoo Chile with RAAR Trio to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TRIPPY and TIMELESS playlists, whilst we continue to stream the growing body of work from RAAR Trio, and anticipate future releases!