Kris Pohlmann http://www.krispohlmann.com/ The Roots: Kris Pohlmann was born in 1977, near London, England. At the age of 15 he was inspired by Status Quo to start learning the guitar. In those early days his world centered on Quo, ZZ Top, Free & Cream. Three years later, on his way to school, Kris discovered Stevie Ray Vaughan on the front cover of a guitar magazine. He bought his greatest hits cassette and was immediately hooked. Kris then delved deeper into the world of blues, exploring artists like Freddie King, Albert King, Jeff Healey, Rory Gallagher and, above all, Gary Moore. His tone, technique and rock approach to playing blues would become Kris’ biggest inspiration. At the age of 22 Kris moved to Germany and has lived there ever since. In 2003 Kris started to write his own songs and in 2005 he formed his first band. His admiration for the blues quickly developed into passion.

Kris Pohlmann Band
Kris wanted to play his songs live on stage and perform to people. Forming a band was the obvious step. With Warren Richardson (Bass) and soon after, Elmar Stolley (Drums) he had found the right musicians. The trio would quickly gain a reputation as an energetic and entertaining live act. Following numerous concerts and support slots (for Eric Gales & Nine Below Zero) they recorded their debut album ‘New Resolution’ in 2009. The album was warmly received by the press and the German Rock Music Association awarded the band with the prize ‘Best Blues Band’ at the end of 2009. On the back of this release the band toured Germany and showed enthusiastic crowds around the country that the award was justified.

In 2012 the follow-up album ‘One For Sorrow’ was released. Despite the first album encompassing numerous styles, ‘One For Sorrow’ was much more rock oriented. This album showed how much Kris had developed as a singer and guitarist. The album received great press reviews not only in Germany, but also in the UK, Netherlands and the US. The year 2012 was rounded off perfectly by winning 4 awards at the German Rock Music Association award ceremony: ‘Best Blues Singer’, ‘Best Blues Band’, ‘Best Blues Album’ & ‘Best Blues Song’.

During 2012 and early 2013 the band toured Germany & the Netherlands extensively with a mix of club and festival gigs. At the Highlands Festival in Amersfoort in the Netherlands, May 2013, the band shared the stage with the likes of Ten Years After, Ryan McGarvey, Ben Poole & Pat Travers. The band’s electric performance was praised by the festival organisers, national press & festival-goers. This was to be the band’s last performance together. After 8 years with the band, Warren decided to leave due to job commitments. Kris decided to disband the trio and start afresh. For Kris the band was always ‘a band’. A sum of the individual parts and no part could be replaced easily. Having harbored his own desire to move the band into a heavier direction, Kris took the opportunity to continue his musical career as a solo artist.

Kris Pohlmann

Kris wanted to form a new band, harder hitting and more rock focused than ever before. It was a conscious decision to change direction but a natural musical progression. Having recorded numerous demoes over the years that Kris felt weren’t right for the old line up, he now decided the time was right for a new direction and wanted to explore his roots, the music that first inspired him to pick up a guitar in the first place.
Kris and long term producer Thomas Hannes sat down in the summer of 2013 decided to make an album unlike anything they had recorded before: a 1970s influenced rock album that would see Kris pushing blues ideas as far into rock as he could – a brave step considering the widespread acclaim that his previous albums had received.

The 2nd half of 2013 was spent turning those demos into songs, experimenting with new ideas, writing new material and seeking out the right musicians for the job. For the ‘Taylor Road’ recording sessions KRIS acquired ex-Henrik Freischlader drummer Daniel Guthausen and the young, talented bass player Dennis Bowens to lay down the heavy rhythms.

Unlike with previous albums, a more relaxed approach to recording was adopted. Partly due to touring commitments, partly from wanting to take their time to craft the best album they could, in all the recording process took over 9 months to complete with all the musicians collaborating to shape the songs. Songs were arranged and re-arranged during the recording sessions; different approaches to the songs were tried out until the ‘right style’ had been found. The song was always the focal point with the emphasis on making each song catchy and unique even if it meant re-writing or re-recording an entire song.

The result?

“‘Taylor Road’, is the place where my musical journey began. This album is my homage to that period of musical discovery. Straight up blues infused rock music. Heavy rhythms, guitar riffs and big solos. The music on this album feels like it did for me when I was learning to play in my bedroom down Taylor Road. Making this album has made me feel more inspired and motivated to make and perform music than as far back as I can remember and I can’t wait to see where this road takes me.” Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.