When examining the history of modern American music, there are few genres that can’t be traced back in some way to the blues. And while variants of the genre sprung up across the North American continent, it’s hard to shake the notion that the authentic, down-and-dirty blues came from a very particular part of the country – the swamp. It’s hard to pinpoint what exactly about rural environs, murky bogs and a humid climate helped to make the music sound more potent, but there’s no denying that much of the blues' finest moments emanated from the dark corners of places like Louisiana, East Texas, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle. Looking to dig a bit deeper, Kirk Degiorgio dove into his massive vinyl archive and fished a couple of hours’ worth of high-quality swamp soul out of the muck.
