Swiss-based four-piece blues rock band The Ellis Manos Band has just released the third single and it’s ‘Ambedo Mind’ from their second album, Ambedo, both available now through Jazzhaus Records.
“Smooth, sexy, and horn-section-soulful, this song is a nod to the soul and R&B greats,” says Edis Mano, the guitarist for Ellis Mano Band, of the band’s new single.
Check out the official video here at RAMzine, and you can see he’s pitched the song right, and you can get bet your bottom dollar auto-tuning wasn’t needed to hit those high notes. It should be no surprise that Ambedo itself has gone to #2 in the Official Swiss Album Chart.
Talking about the concept behind the making of the music video for the ‘Amebedo Mind‘ single the guitarist continued: “During the pandemic, I was able to teach myself filmmaking which is something I have wanted to do that for years. What I always missed was the time to learn it in peace and self-taught (Thanks, YouTube).”
“Keep It Simple and The Question were the first two music videos I made,” he continued. “With ‘Ambedo Mind‘ I wanted to have a cinematographic reference to the subject of Ambedo. That’s why we took the macro recordings with a special lens. This optic makes the smallest objects appear gigantic. This is exactly how we behave during the process of creating an album. The smallest details are often discussed very intensively. There are many parallels.”
In Switzerland, The Ellis Mano Band might be considered comparable to The Wrecking Crew or The Funk Brothers. They are top-flight studio musicians and elites in the Swiss music scene. Although they spent years making music with other artists, the band members never got much time to make music of their own until more recently.
They describe their trademark well-produced sound as “a sort of rock n’ soul, rooted deep down in the blues.”
“‘The Question’ is a true blues rock blaster,” said Mano of the band’s previous single. “It’s like a tornado blowing through your barn, nearly lifting it of the ground. It describes the writer’s demons and the constant temptation of past substance abuse and dependency.”
‘The Question’ also features a guest appearance from Australian singer, songwriter, and keyboard player Lachy Doley, renowned for his solo work and working with artists like Jimmy Barnes and Glenn Hughes. On this Ellis Manos Band single he can be heard playing the Hammond B3 organ.
Opening with a riff that inverts Golden Earring‘s ‘Radar Love’, it shifts gear fast becoming a heavy hitting bluesy-pulsed number, where not only guest artist Doley gets to shine but some nimble-fingered flashes from individual band members too, Manos vocals declaring new life intentions while overall the emphatic intention is for us to dust the cobwebs off and dance along to this record.
You can watch the video to it here at RAMzine, along with previous single, ‘Keep It Simple’, that offers an early Chris Rea vibe to its soulful blues.
“We chose the album title Ambedo because it reflects the state of the process of recording an album,” said Mano. “Ambedo refers to the tendency both to reflect and to absorb. Musicians like us do it all the time, especially when we compose new songs and create a new album.”
Rich in detail, from Chris Ellis’s rough voice, Edis Mano’s vintage sounding guitar playing, and the tight rhythm section of drummer Nico Looser and bass player Severin Graf, the album also features Hammond B3 organ, and horns that reflect the blazing summer heat that took place when they recorded. The harmonious backing vocals have been compared to something you might hear from Muscle Shoals Studios.
“We would get together with just a few ideas, fill it out, let it grow, work on it, with a great passion,” says Ellis. “For session musicians, it was not about having just another project to play on, but it was an opportunity for us to play as a real band again. It was a great feeling to see the guys together and getting emotional from time to time playing the music.”
The album was recorded at Mano’s Studio E10 with a lot of vintage gear and instruments and produced with a contemporary sound. All songs were recorded live with just a few later overdubs, including backing vocals and horns.
With Ambedo, the intent was to present a rich tapestry of universal joy and sorrow; from the awkward moment after a one-night stand in ‘Breakfast’, the desperation and grief in ‘Long Road’ and by contrast, the loud social criticism in ‘The Horrible Truth’.
Each track was recorded with a deep respect and understanding of American roots music, from the early blues of the American South through to the revolutionary blues and rock revolution of 1960s Britain.
Influenced by Led Zeppelin, J.J. Cale, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Jimi Hendrix and more recently John Mayer, Ambedo is slated for a June release, and the band hopes to follow it up with tours across Europe and North America.
“Making this music was fascinating, it was really easy to create the music and take it further,” said Ellis. “It was a beautiful experience and I hope we can repeat it time and time again.”
You can purchase the singles and pre-order the album Ambedo here.
