Kai Strauss

Kai Strauss (born 15 May 1970) is a German electric blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter. and grew up in Osnabrück. As a teenager in the 1980s, he developed a passion for the work of Albert King, Buddy Guy, Jimmie Vaughan and Stevie Ray Vaughan, through listening to his parents' record collection. Electric Blues contained the track "Home in My Heart", written by Winfield Scott and Otis Blackwell, and originally recorded by Solomon Burke.

His next album, I Go By Feel was issued on Continental Blue Heaven in 2015. Getting Personal, which was released in January 2017, saw guest musician Big Daddy Wilson (vocals) feature on one of the tracks. By this time, Bruce Iglauer founder of Alligator Records stated, on hearing the work of Strauss, "Excellent playing, with a lot of maturity and emotions". The magazine, Blues Matters!, in its number 108 issue in 2019 noted, "This is high energy top quality electric blues as it should be, from the heart and with punches of feelings and emotions. Hard to believe this man is a blues player from Germany and not from Chicago or Memphis". Most of the tracks were written, or co-written by Strauss, although it included a version of "Down on Bended Knee", as originally recorded by Johnny Copeland from Copeland Special (1981). Unusually, the horn section on In My Prime was recorded in the United States, with the bulk of the other recording taking place in Germany in July 2020.

Strauss had concerts in 2023, which included a date in January at the Stadstheater Blues Festival alongside Giles Robson, Sugar Queen, Big Bo and Little Steven, and a short joint tour with Tony Vega throughout March.

Discography Albums Year Title Record label Additional credits 2014 Electric Blues Continental Record Services 2015 I Go By Feel Continental Blue Heaven 2017 Getting Personal Continental Blue Heaven 2018 Alabama Hambone Styx RecordsTommie Harris With The R&B Caravan Feat. Kai Strauss 2018 The Blues Is Handmade (compilation album)Continental Blue Heaven 2019 Live in Concert (live album)Continental Blue HeavenKai Strauss & The Electric Blues All Stars 2020 In My Prime Continental Blue Heaven