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

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...

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. 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 advertise ...

'' Top Blues Albums Chart.

Career

She was born in Brussels, Belgium. She began her musical journey

busking Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for 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 performance is pr ...

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, St. Louis, Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee, and then the

Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States. The term was first used to describe the states most dependent on plantations and slavery prior to the American Civil War. Following the war ...

. Her familiar presence in

Clarksdale, Mississippi Clarksdale is a city in and the county seat of 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-19th century when he establishe ...

, saw her take part in the town's own musical event, the

Sunflower River Blues & Gospel Festival The Sunflower River Blues & Gospel Festival is an annual music festival in Clarksdale, Mississippi. It is held the second weekend in August, lasting three days. Created as the Sunflower Riverbank Blues Festival in 1988, the festival features vet ...

, for three consecutive years. In early 2016, Volt met up with the New Orleans-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- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

, Ruf Records 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 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 current town square of Coldwater is approximately two miles south of the Col ...

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

) 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". 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 The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the Uni ...

, 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 and, by August, had committed to that approach. As inspiration for her song writing, Volt decided to travel for a month by Amtrak across an ever changing landscape afforded by Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas and back to Mississippi. Volt recorded that November in the Royal Studios 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 member of Sugar Ray & th ...

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". 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 a town in Mono County, California, and is the county's only incorporated community. 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, r ...

; 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 women singers Belgian guitarists Belgian women songwriters Musicians from Brussels Belgian 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