I didn’t know what to expect from Art Block to be fair and I love that. As a fan of varying musical tastes, it’s good to go in blind. All I knew was that he was a singer/songwriter from London who had just released a new song and there it was..
Eliza....
Eliza starts with the most simplistic, traditional piano sound before bringing in a haunting, ethereal and almost heart-breaking voice. My mouth dropped open! The breathy vocals and beautiful strings made my heart beat heavy. What a beautiful, beautiful song! This is the kind of track that stops me dead, the kind of track that is impossible to listen to just once. I must’ve listened to it at least six times from the first play. Wow!
I then, of course, wanted more from this guy so checked it all out. You can get his entire works on the Bandcamp page for just £14 and I suggest you do!
Arts' first track, Polly was released in 2014, the Los Feliz EP in 2015 and then another year later came the Borderline EP, the title track has now over 80,000 listens on Spotify!
2017 gave us the Warzone EP and the fantastic song writing skills shine out on the Warzone track for me, definitely another of my Art Block highlights.
“I'm a ghost that's haunted, histories taunted with the pain of distant memories and I sing.”
Eliza was released on Valentines Day 2018 – is it a song of love or a song of heartbreak and despair? Whatever it means to Art or to you, just take 4 minutes out and listen…
I had a little chat with Art and here's how it went -
Firstly, thanks for taking time out to answer a few questions for me, its most appreciated.
So, the generic term 'art block' is caused by a lack of creative purpose. You don’t seem to have any problem with this! Is it something you struggle with?
No, not at the moment. The creative juices seem to be flowing! Occasionally, I might be stumped when I think of lyrics, but then I always move on to something new. The original melody for Eliza was composed in 2015, for instance, but the whole song only came together recently, after meeting a very inspirational person.
Talking of inspiration, where do you draw your inspiration from and who or what inspires you?
That lead on nicely to this question. I am often inspired by people. Musicians I meet - there's so much creativity in London. Relationships also serve to inspire as there is so much beauty and fragility in the human condition. But world events also provide inspiration. For example, the song Borderline was partly inspired by the refugee crisis, although the song could also relate to a relationship which is in crisis.
You mentioned the 'new' track Eliza. I've heard this was recorded on a boat. Is that true and how did that come about?
My local studio in Limehouse moved to a boat called Lighthouse95 on Trinity Buoy Wharf in Docklands. It's quite an inspirational place. That's where the strings were recorded and I was lucky to work with a talented cellist called Maria Rodriguez Reina, who has her own folk trio, Dear Joy. When we recorded, it was snowing in London and it was quite treacherous to get instruments across the retractable drawbridge. There is a video on my Instagram page for anyone who is interested!
You seem to stay fairly quiet and inconspicuous within the social media outlets. Are you generally a quiet, mysterious guy or can you tell us a little about yourself?
I am generally an introverted person and like to concentrate on my song writing at home, where I am most comfortable. I used to suffer from intense stage fright until I was hypnotised by a compere I met at a cabaret show I was playing at.
So what's next for Art Block?
I will have two new singles in March and April before the full release of the Eliza EP in May. I can't wait to share all the new music with everyone.
You can see Art live at The Islington, London on March 24th for a preview of the new EP and hopefully plenty more great tracks and live shows will be announced in the future. A very talented guy and I’m sure has an illustrious career ahead of him, he certainly deserves it!
Find Art Block over at his website here, via all the links throughout this article and of course, Facebook & Twitter