KARL BLAU
Beneath Waves
K
· Secret weapon Karl Blau steps centre stage after being a backing player for too long.
An unsung backing player who has left indelible impressions on records by the likes of Laura Veirs and The Microphones, Karl Blau is the type of musical prodigy whose instant grasp of songcraft and perfectly balanced instrumentation has made him a secret weapon in the arsenal of his collaborators. While releasing shed-loads of his own music in limited-edition handmade runs (check out his never-ceasing monthly releases ranging from full-length collections to experimental field recordings at kelpmonthly.com), Beneath Waves acts as Blau’s first solo album proper.
Opener "Crashing Waves" clocks in at more than seven minutes, spruced up by muted horns and strummed guitar that lives up to the song’s title. Toying with everything from sea shanties with jazzy flourishes, and lo-fi indie rock, the rest of Beneath Waves unfolds like a project years in the making – a perfectly fitting impression given Blau’s long-time-coming entry into the world of "real" releases (in other words, discs the dude doesn’t have to glue together and mail out himself). As such, it’s an unsurprisingly auspicious debut.
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