“Mysticssippi”
blues man Harry Manx has been called an “essential link” between the music of
East and West, creating musical short stories that wed the tradition of the
Blues with the depth of classical Indian ragas. He has created a unique sound
that is hard to forget and deliciously addictive to listen to.

Harry forged his distinctive style by studying at the feet of the
masters, first as a sound man in the blues clubs of Toronto during his
formative years and then under a rigorous tutelage with Vishwa Mohan Bhatt in
India. Bhatt is the inventor of the 20-stringed Mohan Veena, which has become
Harry’s signature instrument.

Harry played slide guitar for many years before meeting Bhatt in
Rajasthan, in fact he had been living in another part of India for many years
already, but he started at the beginning under Bhatt’s tutelage, unlearning
most of what he knew about playing a slide instrument. He learned Eastern
scales and eventually ragas, deceptively complex and regimented musical
patterns that form the basis of Indian composition. Learning the voicings of
Indian music is a subtle art that comes with time. Harry spent most of twelve
years in India learning that. It was later on that Harry decided to explore the
connection between Indian ragas and blues scales which eventually led to the
Indo-blues hybrid that has become his style.