To listen to Karl Blau‘s albums and make descriptions of what is heard is to walk through a farmer’s market and describe all the vegetables grown in that area. It is the love that Blau feels for music that shines through; most anyone can sense the passion this cultivator has for his trade. Every age group has been exposed to punk rock and everyone needs heartfelt music now as much as ever.
OFFICIAL :: FACEBOOK :: SOUNDCLOUD :: BANDCAMP :: K RECS
Within the last 3 years Blau has toured Japan twice, spent a winter-long residency in Queens, NY, toured the East and West coast multiple times, and played 6 weeks of shows across Europe in Spring 2009, and festivals in Europe in August, followed by tours in the fall with Mount Eerie and LAKE. Karl Blau constantly renews his commitment to exploring the frontiers of sound. In this world of instant access to musical cultures near and far that were once a series of thick walls of concrete – time becomes a limitless characteristic. His latest recordings, Max, are a snack pack of subdued, soulful, introspective emotional funk that shows Blau at his best.
Prior to his solo recordings (2007’s Beneath Waves [KLP174], 2008’s Nature’s Got Away [KLP192], 2009’s Zebra [KLP205], and 2011’s Max [KLP227]), Blau played (and still plays) with Bret Lunsford (Beat Happening) and Phil Elverum (Mount Eerie) in D+. In the spirit of his hometown Anacortes, Blau flies the flag of community and, likewise, Anacortes’s humble Knw-Yr-Own Records has released D+ “What Is Doubt For” and D+ “No Mystery.” From 2008-2009, K Record’s Dub Narcotic Studio has employed Karl as a sort of “in house producer.” In this all-analog studio, Blau has recorded new albums by Arrington DeDionyso, LAKE, The Bundles (Jeffrey Lewis and Kimya Dawson), Angelo Spencer and Your Heart Breaks. Listen for Blau’s vocal and instrumental contribution on the new Laura Veirs album, Calvin Johnson’s latest release and the recordings of Ian Svenonious’s group Chain & the Gang.
