Kai Strauss & The Electric Blues All-Stars

‘Even as a teenager, I was infected by the magic of Buddy Guy, Albert King and the Vaughan Brothers,’ says the musician, who grew up musically in Germany's blues stronghold of Osnabrück and is now considered one of the big names on the European scene together with his international band.


From his professional start in 1995, when he teamed up with Texas-born singer Memo Gonzalez, to his successful career as a solo artist, Kai Strauss has proven himself to be a powerful and original guitarist and singer. Several German Blues Awards and appearances at renowned festivals from Europe to the Caribbean confirm that Strauss has arrived in the international ‘Blues Champions League’.


With Night Shift, Kai Strauss has now released his seventh album, and once again he succeeds in weaving his blues roots with elements of his own brand of funk and soul to create an exciting contemporary sound. He has noticeably developed as a songwriter. His songs have gained in urgency and topicality, sometimes addressing more serious issues. Although Strauss has clearly learned the grammar of the old blues masters, his guitar work is by no means ‘paint-by-numbers blues’.


Performed with his own unique voice, Kai places his guitar licks with the energy and precision of a South American penalty taker. And when even US blues mogul Bruce Iglauer praises Strauss as a musician ‘who has it all’, you know that eight recordings, TV appearances and countless shows in over 20 countries have paid off.


The blues has always been a difficult field to conquer, but Kai Strauss is well on his way to doing just that.