MEET ARSEN

Arsen Shomakhov is referred to by some as "Strat man" for his passion for the guitar. He had a long way to go before the most ardent of blues zealots of the Mississippi Delta awarded him the title of "2007 Arkansas Blues & Heritage Festival Emerging Artist Top Performer." Now he's cutting his second U.S. album, bet it will be as always surprising...


Arsen Shomakhov - MySpace.com



BIOGRAPHY

Russian-born guitar player, singer and songwriter Arsen Shomakhov formed the blues band Ragtime (after the E.L. Doctorow novel) in 1991, and after relentless rehearsals in the non-blues town of Nalchik, they subsequently became one of the leading acts on the Russian blues scene. In 2001, their participation in the St. Petersburg Neva Delta Blues Festival led to a series of gigs at the best blues venues of Moscow.

April of 2002 saw the release of their debut album, "Heavy Steppin'", which led to gigs at venues such as the legendary B.B. King Club in Moscow. The album received good press and enjoyed international airplay.

A performance at the All-Russia Spring 2003 Blues Festival in Moscow prompted an invitation to the first International Moscow Blues Festival in September of 2003. That same month they released their second album, "Troublemaker", which they presented at the renowned Forte Blues Club in Moscow in December of that same year.

"Troublemaker" is now considered to be one of the best Russian blues records, and was included in the Top 25 albums of the Australian "Blues Beat" program in 2003 and 2004.

In February of 2005, the band traveled to Memphis to participate in the International Blues Challenge semi-finals under the auspices of "blues.ru", the Russian blues community. Listeners at the Blues City Cafe were stunned as Arsen tore the place up with his original songs. To use the American vernacular – he killed.  

Arsen's third album, "Dangerous", was released on the Blues Leaf label (USA) in February of 2006, documenting this young player's ever-expanding prowess on both the guitar and in crafting original songs. Featured on blues radio playlists worldwide, Arsen continues to
impress the West as a talent to watch.

In early October of 2007 Shomakhov returned to the US to play at the 22nd Arkansas Blues & Heritage Festival as an "emerging artist" contender. He wowed the audience and judges with his version of the Delta Blues that he took home to Russia the coveted bragging rights of being the 2007 Emerging Artist Top Performer.

In May of 2008, after a year spent in Moscow on the front burner of the white-hot blues scene there, Arsen moved to Canada and settled with his family in Vancouver.

www.arsenic.blues.ru/main.htm