Cork singer John Blek thrilled to release album after frustrations of Covid era
John Blek. Picture: Barra Vernon
Like so many other people in the arts industry, the past 18 months have been a frustrating time for Cork singer-songwriter John O’Connor, aka John Blek. Recent lowpoints included watching the crowds at the All-Ireland hurling final when his own gigging opportunities were severely limited.
He's stayed on track, however, and as the sector's green light for opening will at least coincide with the release of his new record On Ether and Air is the final chapter of a four-album cycle about humanity’s connection to the elements.
“This record was finished in the early part of 2020, but I didn't want to release it at the start of 2021, because there was no hope of me being able to service it and bring it to people in the way that I would want to,” says Blek.
“I just felt as though it needed to just get the airing it deserved. I experienced that with my last album, The Embers, which was released in mid-February of 2020. I just felt burned - you invest a lot of time and finances in creating and subsequently promoting a release.
“And then following that, I did one show in Dublin, I did 10 shows in the UK, and one show at the Triskel in Cork. And that was the extent of what I was able to do.”
At a disconnected time for many artists, On Ether and Air features a lot of collaborations, with single Cormorant in particular focusing on maintaining connection with loved ones.
“When we speak of detachment and unity, there are songs in this album that speak to that very, very clearly for me. There's a track Forest Strong, and the lyric is, 'the tree is weak when stood alone, the forest strong when wild winds blow'.
“It was written with the backdrop of the rise of absurdity in politics, Brexit, a burning America... every country had its problems with the rise of a very divisive politics.
“It's a bizarre concept to me - we feel as though we've grown beyond this to a certain point, but still, we fall back down into it.”
After living with these songs for so long, and waiting 18 months, there must surely be a form of emotional release in taking them, and sharing them with others.
“It's a strange thing. Live performance is something that I adore. And different gigs require different parts of your performance ability, there's some gigs where you can allow yourself to be quite vulnerable, and others you can have to go in with an almost bulletproof mentality where, where it's almost like war, winning over your audience, essentially, just with a barrage of stories and humor and trying to draw them into the world of the song. Whereas other times, if you're playing to a room full of converts, they're already with you, I suppose.
“For those shows, where you're playing to people who are aware of the music that you've created already, it's a particularly kind of vulnerable thing, because you can open yourself up in a way that I might not necessarily be conscious of, prior to actually starting seeing that three- or four-minute piece of music. There have been occasions in the past where the relevance of a song hits at a point in time where... in the emotional side of a gig, it amplifies things.
“There's an emotional element to performing at the moment, anyway, regardless of the context of the song, but yeah, it's going to be an interesting adventure.”
- John Blek’s On Ether And Air releases across streaming and download services on Saturday, September 10. Upcoming gigs include Triskel Christchurch in Cork on October 16
- Watching: “We were watching a Netflix show called Turn Up Charlie. We watched it last week, binged on seven episodes. It's about some '90s, washed-up pop-star and how he gets a new lease of life in Ibiza. We've also been on a Steven Seagal binge - been practicing our knife play, it's been fun.”
- Podcasts and Radio: “I've been listening to BBC Radio Cambridgeshire - Kerry Devine does a folk show there. It's actually class, it's on Sunday nights. We've been tuning into that the last while. It's a nice mix of old and new, which I really enjoy. It's not a twee BBC folk show - you have everything from Shirley Collins and Davey Graham, to Niamh Regan or Lankum.”
- Music: “I bought the new Villagers album last Friday. One listen through, really enjoyed it. We do Friday nights listening in our house here - we have a few drinks and listen to whatever records we picked up that week. Niamh Regan's Hemet was on when we did an all-female night, about three weeks ago. Anna Mieke, Emma Langford, a lot of Joan Shelley, who I'm a massive fan of.”
- Art: “Peter Power had an installation show at Kilkenny Arts Festival, and I think it's worth people's time just to look up the Instagram of that because some of the images were incredible. A willow tree with some lungs projected onto it. Such an eye-opener and offers great perspective.”
