Perry Blake (born 10 May 1970) is an Irish singer and songwriter from Sligo, Ireland, known for the delicate, downtempo, melancholic style of his songs and his soft singing voice.
Career
editBlake's 1998 self-titled debut album was successful in the United Kingdom and won critical praise. His first single, "The Hunchback Of San Francisco", came from this album.[1] His second release, Still Life, contained contributions from Steve Jansen,[2] while his third album, California, was co-produced with Italian composer Marco Sabiu and featured Dickon Hinchliffe of Tindersticks and the former Prefab Sprout drummer Neil Conti.[3][4]
Blake is popular in France,[5] where his music was used for the soundtracks of the films Presque rien (2000, for which he also wrote the original music) and Trois Petites Filles (2004).[6]
Blake's musical influences include Leonard Cohen, David Sylvian, Scott Walker, and Nick Drake.[5] He has collaborated with Françoise Hardy and wrote two songs for her award-winning Tant de belles choses album. He has also worked with French electronic star Émilie Simon.
In June 2014, Blake released an electronic pop album, Modern Love under the name Electro Sensitive Behaviour, with longtime collaborators Glenn Garrett and Graham Murphy, whom he has worked with since his first album in 1998.
Perry is now signed to and managed by Cumbrian-based label Moochin' About. A new single featuring actor Paul McGann was released in 2023, with a new album due in late 2023.
Discography
edit- Studio albums
- Perry Blake (1998) (Polydor)
- Still Life (1999) (Naive)
- California (2002) (Naive)
- Songs for Someone (2004) (Naive)
- The Crying Room (2006) (Blu Orchard/Warner France)
- Canyon Songs (2007) (Reekus Records)
- Songs Of Praise (2019) (Moochin' About)
- New Years Wish (2020) (Moochin' About)
- Live albums
- Broken Statues (Live at Cirque Royal, Nuits Botanique, Brussels on 29 September 2000) (2001) (Naive)
- Soundtracks
- Presque rien (2000) (Naive)
- Others
- Modern Love (2014) (Orchard-Lily, iTunes release) as Electro Sensitive Behaviour
References
edit- ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (2000). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music (First ed.). Virgin Books. p. 50. ISBN 0-7535-0427-8.
- ^ "Perry Blake on Apple Music". Apple Music.
- ^ Wilson, MacKenzie "California Review", AllMusic. Retrieved 22 January 2010
- ^ "Perry Blake – California", Raidió Teilifís Éireann. Retrieved 22 January 2010
- ^ a b Hayes, Kelvin "Perry Blake Biography", AllMusic. Retrieved 22 January 2010
- ^ "Perry Blake to play Dublin concert", Raidió Teilifís Éireann, 25 November 2004. Retrieved 22 January 2010
External links
edit- Official website
- Perry Blake at IMDb
- Concert Photos (The Black Sessions) by Laurent Orseau
- Discogs.com entry
 | This article on a singer-songwriter is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
  | This biographical article about an Irish singer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |