Nature's Got Away (KLP192)
Did Nature leave? No. Nature got loose. And now that these songs have clearly gone into the world -- are they left to run around naked? Yes.
Nature's Got Away made it to tape fresh off of a tour in Spring 2007 where
Karl Blau traveled to Japan and performed with some of his biggest musical influences: namely
Tori Kudo (
Maher Shalal Hash Baz), Reiko Kudo,
Nikaido Kazumi, the Moools, Tennis Coats, and
Arrington DeDionyso. Written on the road and recorded at "home" at the beloved
Dub Narcotic Studio by
Karl Blau accompanied mainly by: Olympians--
Peter Dolan (Chin-Up Merryweather), and members of
LAKE:
Lindsay Shief, Eli Moore, Mark Morrison, Micah Davis-Wheeler, Andrew Dorsett, and
Ashley Eriksson; with also Portland folks
Nate Ashley and
Greg Olin (Graves); and Seattle's
Steve Moore (Earth, Sunn0)))))). Esoteric
Blau says regarding this
Nature's Got Away release: "Invoking the fates and listening deeply into the forces present-- the room, the instruments, the players, listening to the microphones, listening to the wood grain-- the director of a musical piece may find that the less heavy handed one can be, the more one can approach hands free and even getting out of the way of a 'happening.' And if you use your hands to guide you in the forest on a clouded night you will not forget this experience."
If it appeared that
Blau bowed out of music biz after his making of
Beneath Waves (KLP174) (his previous
K release) nothing could be further from truth. In June
K sent a shot across the bow of listenership with the release of the heavy hitting
International Pop Underground single
"That's How I Got To Memphis" (IPU118) sung by
Blau and produced by
Tucker Martine (
Mount Analog, the Decemberists, Sufjan Stevens). Since the release of acclaimed
Beneath Waves,
Blau put out 15 albums to subscribing fans of
Kelp Lunacy-- his subscriber supported audio zine, recorded and toured with Nonesuch artist Laura Veirs (for the albums
Year of Meteors and
Saltbreakers), recorded and released
D+ No Mystery, and
What Is Doubt For with cohorts
Bret Lunsford (
Beat Happening, Knw-Yr-Own) and
Phil Elverum (
Mount Eerie/Knw-Yr-Own) as well as 3 albums with
Your Heart Breaks. In the past two years, two of
Karl Blau's releases on Kelp would be picked up by labels and released to a more general public. Marriage Records rereleased
Dance Positive and Whistler Records let
AM see a broader audience by promotion and distribution through Carrot Top.
Blau backed these releases touring extensively with Your Heart Breaks, a tour with Bright Black Morning Light, shows with
Kimya Dawson, Polite Sleeper
and extensive solo touring catering to his all-ages fan base.