Watch a video of the song, “Pretense of the Herd” from my recent show at Reggies in Chicago (October 11th): https://youtu.be/KdtlX-UT3ac
Indie Band Guru Review
“Perfect music to just sit back with and let wash over you when you need an energy refresh. There will be no drifting off here. You will be wide awake and ready to take on the world.”
Read the full review at https://indiebandguru.com/jason-blake-a-confusion-sequence/
CD Release Show
Please join me on Saturday, November 16th, for a special “A Confusion Sequence” CD release show. I will be joined by Tommy Murray on drums for my debut performance at The Outta Space. Buy tickets now through the venue website: https://theouttaspace.com/calendar
A Confusion Sequence
I am excited to announce my new album, “A Confusion Sequence,” featuring Marco Minnemann on drums. Mixed at Gravel Road Recording and mastered by Andy VanDette, it will be released November 15th on 7d Media. The amazing artwork including a twelve page booklet was created by Hajo Müller. Preorder the album now at https://7dmedia.com/a-confusion-sequence
"False Streets of Entanglement" live at Reggies
Watch a video of the song, “False Streets of Entanglement” from my recent show at Reggies in Chicago (October 11th): https://youtu.be/4ebAJLjYrL8?si=S8lhS5jvm8Y6r3DR
Photos from Reggies
The photos section of the site includes many new pictures from the other night at Reggies. Thank you Mary from Vacant Era Photography!
Seemingly Quixotic Live
I have uploaded a live video exclusive to my website. It comes from my recent show at Heights Brewing in Farmington, MI. The song appeared early in the set and has always been one of my favorites to play. Thank you to Tom Darga from the brewery for filming. Watch it here in the videos page of the site.
Echoes and Dust Review
"It is the EP that’ll take repeatable listens to sink in, and how they proven themselves that they’re more than just the bands that they’re known for, and take it up a notch." - By Zachary Nathanson
Read the full review of Candles Burn featuring Raphael Weinroth-Browne and out on 7d Media.
https://echoesanddust.com/2024/09/jason-blake-raphael-weinroth-browne-candles-burn/
Solo Prog Show
I am excited to announce that I will be opening for Sons of Ra on October 11th at Reggies! For this show, I will be performing my solo prog material. Tickets may be purchased at https://www.ticketweb.com/event/sons-of-ra-source-legacy-reggies-music-joint-tickets/13812233
Music Street Journal Review
“My only complaint here is that I wish there was more.” Read the full review here.
Autopoietican Review
“Ethereal Dialogue is, as a whole, a phonographic work full of magic that is recommended in any good collection of avant-garde music inside and outside of rock and on the borders of rock with something else.” Read the full review here.
Fall Dates
I have added my fall dates to my events and Bands in Town pages. See either of them for more details.
One World Music Chart
My Ethereal Dialogue album is currently at #42 on the One World Music Radio charts. Check it out here.
Michigan Dates
I will be playing in Farmington, Jackson, and Grand Rapids, Michigan July 26-29. As part of this trip, I will be recording an additional concert to be aired later. One of the shows may also be live streamed (more details on this soon). Visit my events page or Bandsintown for more details. See you there!
Morning Breeze
Tune in tomorrow to Morning Breeze for the second Wayfarer Records showcase. One of my new songs will be played.
Profil Prog Review of Candles Burn
“What beautiful alchemy from the first notes! Only two instruments, but it seems like there are many more.” 9.1/10
The Story Behind ETHEREAL DIALOGUE
Chapter One:
After recording DREAMING IN NUMBERS for Wayfarer Records, an idea was put forth to do some live shows with one of the artists on the label. I liked the idea, but wondered how I would be able to pull off something like this. While all sounds on that album came from the Warr guitar, it was heavily processed and run through multiple pedals. Plus, the recording was a culmination of drones that have been condensed and built over time. In other words, the boring (subjective, I know, when it comes to ambient music) parts were omitted. So, if I were to play music like that live, would it come off as long winded and humdrum? Ultimately, my answer was, “Yes!” Therefore, I sought out a different approach to this style of music.
Chapter Two:
My next thought was to tackle some of the material from my TERNARY INSTINCT trilogy (FICTIONAL MIRRORS and THE COMPROMISE RATIONALE). While this music contains some drone textures, they have more of a song quality to them. In order to make the songs sound close to like they are on the record, they require a lot of looping. Playing a twelve string instrument with a bass and guitar on one neck, I just felt like people would be thinking, “Why does he need all those strings to play that?” There are moments in this music where I play the instrument extensively, but others where I’m just using one part of the neck and for a live setting, I thought that this may look boring. Also, on a personal level, the lack of true solos in the music is pretty far removed from what I have been playing with my other music. Coincidentally, this has changed my approach for the third part of the series which is slowly moving towards completion.
Chapter Three:
If I’m going to play “ambient” music live, I needed a different approach. I wanted to combine some of these ideas while making each experience different. I started with simple drones using only one sound that could easily be looped in a matter of seconds if necessary. Next, I wrote odd time signature heads, so to speak, for each of the songs. This would give them a song quality, but with a lot of space to improvise which I felt was key. This would give each performance its own unique character and allow it to sound closer to what I typically sound like when I play out solo. This all seemed good in theory so it became time to record.
Chapter Four:
I began recording this music in Spring of 2023. I had just released by album SUBSEQUENT RUINS so much of my time was spent promoting, doing interviews, and playing some shows. When I could get into Gravel Road Recording, I would and each session yielded great results. In no time, we had recorded the seven songs before beginning the mixing stage. At this point, I reached out to Michal Karz to create what became the cool artwork for this release. Soon after, the album was given to Dave Luxton to master. With the album done and artwork complete, it sat.
Chapter Five:
For the better part of a year, the album remained in limbo. The original live performance opportunity never materialized and so there was no urgency to release the music. This coupled with the fact that the label was beginning to transform itself somewhat made it feel like waiting was the smart choice. The next obstacle was finding a time in my prolific release schedule that made sense and didn’t compete with another one of my albums. This year, an EP (CANDLES BURN) was scheduled for April along with the follow up to SUBSEQUENT RUINS later in the year, both on the 7d Media label. We found a short window this year that seemed to work in June and ETHEREAL DIALOGUE was finally released.
Summer Dates
Last night kicked off a handful of summer dates set up to promote Ethereal Dialogue. I will be in Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio. Visit my events page for more details.
Ethereal Dialogue Out Now!
Morning Breeze
Tune in today to Morning Breeze for a special Wayfarer Records showcase. One of my new songs will be played.
https://www.themorningbreeze.org