NYC based musician Chris Blacker premieres “Moment Eternal”

Real artistry means pushing yourself or your ideas further and further with every new endeavor. NYC-based musician Chris Blacker has embodied that notion his whole life.

While studying classical and then jazz piano while living in Seattle, Blacker earned a recognition at the 2006 ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composer Awards. Continuing to hone his craft while putting out several jazz releases, Blacker heeded the call of New York City and moved east.

Since then, Blacker has become a fixture in several NYC musical circles while crafting his debut LP as a lyricist, The Endless Chase. Groundsounds has the exclusive premiere of album cut “Moment Eternal” today.

To dive deep into the world of The Endless Chase we sent Blacker some questions to hear it in his own words. Check out the interview while streaming “Moment Eternal” below.

Chris Blacker’s The Endless Chase is out November 4th, 2016.

Hi, Chris Blacker! Congrats on The Endless Chase. Could you go into some detail on what some of the larger themes are on the album?

Thank you, and thanks for having me! The Endless Chase deals with themes of striving, of wanting to better yourself and the world around you, but often feeling drowned out in the noise. For me it’s about trying to “make it” as an artist, and grappling with what success means in such a mercurial profession, but I think the themes are much broader than just the story of being a struggling artist. Many people dream of being more successful, being more influential, having more friends or having more privacy, of being better looking, being in better shape, and so on and so forth. Restlessness is part of human nature.

How did you arrive at your sound and who are your chief influences?

My music is influenced both by the music I have listened to and by the variety of music I have played throughout my career as a pianist. Songwriters and bands that come to mind (in no particular order) are Rufus Wainwright, Sufjan Stevens, Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush, Moonface, David Bowie’s more piano-driven music, Neutral Milk Hotel, and R.E.M. My sound also draws from the classical training I had growing up on the piano (especially the harmonic language of early 20th century music), and by several years spent working as a jazz pianist.

This will be your first album to feature lyrics. How did your previous work in jazz influence your songwriting here and how long have some of these lyrical concepts been kicking around for?

It’s funny because when I first got into jazz, it came out of my interest in jambands like The Grateful Dead and Phish. I guess I have come full circle in a way.

When I was working in a jazz medium, my music was heavily influenced by Brazilian styles (especially Bossa Nova and the psychedelic Tropicalia movement), by jazz fusion (especially Miles Davis, Chick Corea, and bands like Weather Report), and by rock, pop, and soul music. I never really had a traditional jazz aesthetic in my writing, but you can definitely hear a jazz influence in my vocal harmonies, in my horn arranging, and in those moments when I improvise on the piano.

Lyrically, the album began to coalesce in the summer of 2013. The phrase “The Endless Chase” comes from a song called “Don’t Let Me Leave You,” which was the first song I wrote for the album. Something about those three words powerfully captured how I felt about my life at the time. I knew immediately that it would be the album title. I just had to write a lot more songs that fit the theme.

How did the recording for the LP come about? Who is featured on the album and how did you come to know/work with them?

I would have to say the genesis of the album came in the spring of 2013. Mor Mezrich (of Ears and Gears), who did the lion’s share of the recording and engineering, took an interest in some of my song demos online, and he reached out to me to see if I wanted help putting together some more professional sounding recordings. I had long known that I needed better sounding demos, and with Mor’s help, I recorded some piano, bass, and drum tracks.

One of my roommates at the time, Jake Owen, is a phenomenal guitarist and producer, so he helped me spruce up the tracks by laying down guitars, and by letting me track vocals at home. I asked violinist Erika Kapin to lay down some string parts, and had my friend Kristina Semos do some background vocals. By the end of the process, I had a 5-song EP called “The Storm and the Seed” that Mor mixed and mastered. While I didn’t promote the EP heavily, I finished the process feeling inspired and ready to create an album that I really believed in.

Fast forward a couple of years, and Jake and I share a studio space in Bushwick, which was where we did most of the tracking for The Endless Chase. I teamed up with my longtime drummer Cody Rahn, and Bassist/Producer Jeff Kerestes (who I met through working with the Grammy-winning children’s band, Tim and the Space Cadets). Mor Mezrich again took the helm for most of the engineering. Again, Jake Owen added some amazing guitar parts to the songs. I brought back Erika Kapin to lay down the violin tracks, and also expanded my instrumentation to include trumpets (courtesy of Kenny Warren), and cellos (courtesy of Bobby Lee Crow III). Kristina Semos was joined by my new friend Anna Volpe on backup vocals. I did the piano tracking on a beautiful old Steinway parlor grand piano at Flux Studios. Mor did all of the mixing, and then we took the tracks to Justin Colletti for mastering.

What would you like listeners to take away from The Endless Chase?

I hope that I have created a musical landscape that is unique and evocative, with meaningful and relatable lyrics. I would like them to take away a hopeful feeling, but a kind of hope that has been tested, one that’s aware of consequences and limitations we face, but is still open to the world around us. I hope that people feel like the songs are not about me but about them, in a way that only they and the songs understand.

You’re based out of New York. Any new bands or musicians you could turn us onto?

I confess I’m not so great about getting out and seeing music, so I’m not as dialed in on what’s up-and-coming as I would like to be. A few underground New York songwriters I really like are Gabriel Rios, Elizabeth and the Catapult, and Alan Semerdjian.

Any touring possible for later in 2016 or plans to get back into the studio?

At the moment, I don’t have plans to tour, though I would love to try and put something together for the summer of 2017 if I can get organized. We’ll see!

What can people expect at your record release show at Rockwood Music Hall?

I will be performing with a four-piece band and two backup singers, so it will be a bigger show than I have put on in quite a while. I will be debuting at least one new song. There will be CDs and download cards and hopefully some other goodies for people who come out, as well as my eternal gratitude for the support.

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