Joep Pelt (1979) is a musical globetrotter. Musically raised on the muddy banks of the Mississippi and the Niger by the likes of R.L. Burnside and Ali Farka Touré, Joep often finds himself on both American and African backroads, in search for inspiration and new ingredients for his music. A synthesis of the various music styles that Joep absorbed over the years, together with the stories he collected during his journeys, provide a firm basis for his songs. Armed with just an acoustic guitar, or plugged in with his energetic band, Joep will lead you to the shimmering twilight between different musical worlds.

In the late '90s, Joep spent a significant amount of time in Mississippi, where he played the front porches and 'juke joints' with bluesmen like R.L. Burnside and T-Model Ford, who initiated him in ancient guitar techniques from the Southern cottonland and hypnotic rhythms of the overgrown Mississippi Hill Country. After having written a dissertation on the theme of the devil in the blues, and releasing two acclaimed CDs under the French label Bad Reputation Records, Joep features on three editions of the Dutch North Sea Jazz Festival and plays showcases at various clubs and festivals in Holland, France and the US.

In search of new musical ingredients, Joep first traveled to Mali in 2004, where he learnt guitar from living legends such as Ali Farka Touré, Djelimady Tounkara and Lobi Traoré. With the latter, Joep records the duo album I Yougoba! in Bamako. Next a showcase at the Festival sur le Niger in Segou, Mali, and Dutch festivals such as Oerol, North Sea Jazz and Festival Mundial, this intercontinental collaboration toured the US, and featured venues in New York (Joe's Pub), Chicago (Old Town School, CCC) and the Texan SXSW Festival in 2008. Joep and Lobi's successful collaboration was concluded with a documentary by the Museum of Ethnology in Leiden, and a rerelease of I Yougoba! by the Dutch label Excelsior Recordings. After his adventures in Mali, Joep left for Ethiopia in the winter of 2009, to be inspired by the Ethio-Jazz by giving several concerts and meeting some of the finest musicians of Addis Ababa.

In April 2010, Excelsior Recordings will release Joep Pelts brand new CD "I'm Off!", on which all of the music styles he absorbed over the years are mixed into a swinging whole. On this adventurous CD desertblues is carefully mixed with folk, rock & roll with ragtime, while guitar sounds from Mali blend in with the ancient scales of Ethiopia. In accordance with Joeps hybrid musical approach, the backing musicians on "I'm Off!" come from all angles of the world, like bass player Brehima Kouyaté, who was especially flown in from Mali for the recording session. Although Joeps music might be hard to categorize, reminds one of artists such as Ry Cooder, Damon Albarn, Beck, Nick Cave and Vampire Weekend by its diversity.

According to Joep "musical borders are there only to be crossed", as he prepares himself for yet another musical journey. This time Joep will temporarily disappear into the music scene South Africa, carrying nothing more than a couple of euros and a head full of ideas. Not surprisingly, Joep is regarded to be one of the most adventurous pop musicians of the Netherlands. As the Dutch Fret magazine wrote about him: "An adventurous spirit with an unsatisfiable curiousity. When it comes to Joep, never say 'never'".