Today we’d like to introduce you to Cameron Blake.
Cameron, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’ve been writing songs and producing records as an independent artist since 2009. I started in Baltimore, MD and wrote mostly indie chamber pop songs at the piano, then learned to play the guitar and shifted to folk. I moved to West Michigan in 2011 and pulled together a band. With my album Fear Not (2017), I started performing more frequently without an instrument and developing a more physically engaging show in the performance style of Jacques Brel. Our sound started including a gospel choir and a heavier use of bass and percussion.
In 2022, I released an EP called Mercy for the Gentle Kind that took me back to the playing and singing at the piano and a more stripped down style but with a string section. Now, I am about to release my eighth album Saffron in October. Musically, this album is my exploration of free jazz, spoken word and world music.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The struggle has always been time. Never writers block or recycling the same ideas or anything like that. While writing and recording my own music, I’ve always kept a full-time job, I have three children, I teach, I manage a concert series, etc. I like to stay engaged in the city. This has made playing live with any frequency difficult. While writing and recording, you can take it at your own pace and still keep your ears and mind in shape.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am excited about the release of my album Saffron at the Wealthy Theatre in Grand Rapids on Thursday, October 2. It’s been over a year and a half in the making. The instrumentation on this record is truly unique and carefully designed.
Percussion Section = drum kit & auxiliary percussion (shakers, castanets, wind chimes, hand drums, etc.)
Metallic ‘strings section’ = Pedal steel & Hammond B3
Low strings section – cello & upright bass
Horn Section = Trumpet & sax
Basically, it’s a sort of weird orchestra from the bottom of the sonic spectrum to the top.
In preparation for the project, I did a deep dive into free and spiritual jazz (late Coltrane, Albert Ayler, Pharoah Sanders, Alice Coltrane) and realized how much structure, thought and philosophy went into the creation of this style of music. I put the same energy into studying Eastern scales, alternative techniques and sonics rather than writing down musical material in a traditional song form. So, in reality, there was very little music written in preparation for these sessions. The lyrics were complete but the musical material was more or less improvised with a lot of ideas about how I wanted the music to make the listener feel. That’s where I put my energy! Of course, it helped to have the most creative and explosive musicians you could imagine: Dutcher Snedeker (keys), David Ward (drums), Andy Travis (percussion, pedal steel), Jarad Selner (saxophone, bass clarinet, guitar), Jill Collier (cello), Ian Thompson (bass), Brad Fritcher (trumpet). Josh Kaufman’s engineering and production at Local Legend Recording were also completely invaluable and essential to this project.
As for the lyrics, I wanted to write words that sounded musical (whether spoken or sung) and lyrics that reflect the actual insanity of our times and current cultural and political landscape. It’s always very tempting to hear a song and think that it is biographical or that it’s written from the artist’s perspective. On Saffron, there are many different voices and speakers. Some of these views are mine, but many of them are written as an observer or from the voice of someone else.
The album loosely tell the story of Diogenes. He walked around with a lantern in the middle of the day “looking for one honest man.” And yet he was crazy! Or was he? Alexander the Great was a big fan of Diogenes and traveled to find Diogenes who was bathing in the sun naked in the middle of a courtyard. Alexander approached Diogenes while on his horse and said “Diogenes, I’ve travelled so far to meet you. What an honor! If I could just grant you one thing in the whole kingdom, what would it be?” Diogenes replied “Could you stand out of my light?”
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Finding ways to collaborate. The best way to connect with someone in music is to work with them. Can we jam sometime? Can I find a way to create an event and host you?
Pricing:
- $20 – Tickets – https://grcmc.org/event/cameron-blake-presents-saffron-album-launch-and-listening-event/1097?fbclid=IwY2xjawMQVFdleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFOd0ZRbkFGYjk1U21EVVpHAR7zbsbifXLJbeJC6wWZwTAINt3qXk648tRUKI4WpQNFRbTuBTPRWoWLODv25g_aem_UiXq_5pK8aY6AL0XvczhHg
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cameronblakemusic.com
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/cameronblakemusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cameronblakesongwriter/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TOMWAITS07/
- Other: https://cameronblake.bandcamp.com/music
