Otis Taylor is seen by many as one of the most important and stimulating blues artists of the past twenty years. His life is equally moving as his music. Driven by social matters he sings of injustice, the persistent nature of racism and the blacker side of love in a very enthralling and poetic way. It is seldom comfortable but all the more compelling for it. If only because the "trance blues", as he defines his sound, is hypnotizing and appears to be based on obsessive rhythms that remind us of John Lee Hooker. His deep, warm voice is able to rise above the instrumental parts, which he performed without percussion until recently. He always makes use of all but forgotten blues elements and instruments, like the banjo, the mandolin and the harmonica. His album Pentatonic Wars And Love Songs was nominated for a Grammy in 2009 for a very good reason.
