Swedish Bluesman Uses a Water Pump to Keep the Beat While He Plays His 1933 National Duolian

In 2013, Swedish bluesman Bottleneck John went down to the lakeside of Arvemuséet, Sweden with his gorgeous National Duolian resonator guitar to perform an amazing version of the Son House classic “Preaching the Blues” alongside an old hydraulic ram that kept the beat in perfect time.

The waterpump blues duo – Live by the lakeside!! Water splashing and rhythm swinging – I dig it, folks. This pump is simply awesome, so I HAD to go back and jam some more with it! Here’s another clip featuring my National Duolian and this old, very old invention called a hydraulic ram pump!! It’s just freakin’ cool how steady and laidback it can provide this groovy beat!!!!! The lyrics are from Son House’s song: Preaching the blues.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.

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