A Quick Chat with Blake.08
Congratulations on the release of ‘Eyes Ablaze’! What are some things fans can expect from this new EP?
Thank you!! It's such an honour.
To the fans, expect lush and soulful sonics, breakbeat rhythms, and a whole load of emotion packed into three songs. Two of the three were more club focused, so expect a bit of a long intro into a celebration on one of the three. Also, expect a slow burning compassionate 4/4 track on the 2nd and expect, with a little bit of hope, a hit on the third.
What first got you into music and what motivates you to keep creating it?
Definitely the 2000’s phase of electronic music. Luckily, before I produced, I was exposed to the sounds of Deadmau5, Kaskade, Mt Eden’s dubstep, Skrillex’s launch into popularity with Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites, the Deep House movement with folks like Eats Everything, and Skream and Bengar on BBC Radio One.
I started writing and producing music on Ableton. I guess one of my most inspirational songs has to be Mat Zo - The Sky. I’d also like to pay respects to Steve Duda, for passing down extremely insightful information on the internet, and for all his wonderful free downloads.
As far as what kept me going, it was just the pure dedication to writing music. It wasn’t an easy task and for years the family didn’t approve of partaking on this writing conquest. After I left my previous project, Human Movement, what really kept me dedicated was the fact that I had belief in myself. It just clicked, I had faith, I knew I was into it before I knew what a ‘Club Scene’ actually was. It was never an artform that I was partaking in to be “cool” or “trendy” it was just musical bliss. Through Thick and Thin, we finally got there…
But hey, when you're 26 and your parents are working to pay the bills, there was a bit of pressure to make this happen. Thanks to AnjunaDeep, we are really making this happen.
When performing live, talk to us about the experience of seeing people connect to your music?
Well, all I want is my music to touch the souls of the audience, be it in the car, at the festival, or training in the gym.
We know music is a physical force, so when I perform, I am extremely focused to touch through sound, and get the crowd going, together and with unity. I mostly spin my own tunes for the 90-minute DJ sets, albeit I chuck in a couple tracks of my favourite artists that go around. I’d like to think I take them on an entranced musical journey, and always try to end on a happy note. So, I guess the formula is to strike them with a little bit of courage, and end on a bit of a celebration.
‘Eyes Ablaze’ is a reinterpretation of ‘Eyes On Fire’, notably featured in the film soundtrack for Twilight (2007). How did you approach reinterpreting a track like that?
‘Eyes on Fire’ is just such a wonderful track. It's so melancholic but beautiful at the same time. I knew I had to have a go on it, and make sure I did the cover justice.
I think I spent around two years drafting up the ideas countless times through reiteration.
Regardless of the politics, or plays of covering songs, it’s just such a wonderful track, so I deeply wanted to keep the beauty of the original, but instead do it justice for the next generation.
Do you have any upcoming performances where fans can hear the collection live?
We’ve got a live performance of the whole EP + a special track planned to be filmed in the coming weeks.
Expect that to be done as soon as possible. We’ve managed to get the gear together, crew together and a space together. I’ll try my hardest to make it memorable.
As far as shows, no idea… the Australian dance music scene is a tough one to crack, but I think we are getting there. I quit my day job a few weeks ago to focus entirely on music. For now, I'm working on getting my mental and physical health in order, which was severely lacking during the hard slog of productions over the past three years.
But hey, we’re going good, and I'm feeling good now… happy finally.