'On Ether and Air' is quite literally a breath of fresh air. With its meditative sense of sea breezes, sand dunes and salty air, seabirds, cormorants, long strands, windswept beaches, wistfulness and wistfulness, it’s light and dark, yin and yang and perhaps a reflection of the man and musician that is John Blek.
The prolific Cork native is back with his sixth album and a European tour to herald the return of intimate live music post-Covid. With a gig in Belfast’s American Bar on 10th September 2021, you could call it a calm and quiet album launch gig as part of the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival – yet despite the melodic and gentle character of his songwriting, it betrays the wry humour and wit for which he’s well known in live venues.
‘On Ether and Air’ is the final part of Blek’s “Catharsis Project”; a four-album exploration into themes of the sea, the earth, the embers and the air – “an examination of the simultaneous lightness and weight of the atmospheres surrounding us and the innate human longing for unbridled freedom” – which describes exactly how it feels.
It’s a step up for John Blek who has been a professional musician since 2014 and in that time released six albums. Definitively within the singer-songwriter genre, there’s a step back too – a sense of the mastery to the craft. ‘Cormorant’, for example, is a beautiful song which could just as easily be from the James Taylor stable – my favourite of the pack, although there are many stand out tracks – including ‘Long Strand’, ‘Northern Sky’, and ‘Empty Days’ to name a few.
Blek enlisted the help of Kris Drever (Lau), Cheyenne Mize (Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Maiden Radio) and pianist Kit Downes as well as regular collaborators Davie Ryan (Atlantic Arc, Notify) and Brian Casey to weave the ethereal scenes and soundscapes in which these songs now live.
Written over a period of just six weeks and recorded throughout the second half of 2019, Blek says collaboration was key to the creation of this record.
Chance encounters and some fortunate timing led to me being able to work with some of my favourite musicians. Getting people with such unique playing styles involved went a long way in defining the sound of ‘On Ether and Air’ and creating an album of which I am immensely proud
And so he should be immensely proud. He is in fine voice and there’s a maturity to this album that brings Blek up to a higher level. He is deserving of increasing recognition – not just in Ireland, but across Europe.
‘On Ether and Air’ presents a meditative, mindful, reflective album – a collection of nine beautiful and memorable melodies, that linger long after the listening.
Tickets for the album launch in Belfast’s American Bar on 10th September 2021 are available now via Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival.