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Tuesday, April 28th, 2009 4:38 PM PDT
Lawrence Blatt Releases "The Color of Sunshine"
Here is an update on my newest cd called ” The Color of Sunshine”. The basic concept for the album is that both light/color and sound/pitch are a function of vibrating waves that are similar and related. Music and moods are often described using the metaphor of color, as in the passion and intensity of being ‘red hot,’ or the melancholy feeling of ‘the blues.’ Given this natural relationship, I used colors as the inspiration for different moods and emotions on an entire album. I composed one piece after another working sequentially through the colors represented in the light spectrum which include red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. I then ordered the music on the CD in the sequence imposed by the light spectrum. Since white light, including sunlight, naturally contains all of the colors of the spectrum, I begin and end the album with two pairs of compositions that are reflective of blended light and color.
After two self-produced solo guitar albums I decided to branch out to include other musicians as well as production by legendary guitarist William Ackerman (Grammy winner and founder of Windham Hill Records). In addition to being a solo artist, Ackerman also is one of the most respected producers of contemporary instrumental music. According to Will, “Passion and intellect merge in Lawrence Blatt's compositions and performance. His musical instincts amaze me. He can move through a very broad landscape of musical influence and never seem imitative or insincere,”
It was an honor and a pleasure working with Will on the new album, especially since he is an accomplished guitarist himself. He instinctively knows what works on the instrument and was able to introduce additional instruments and textures played by other musicians without taking away my voice or vision.
My guitar style bridges many genres ion the new cd including new age, neo-classical, folk and world music with subtle, hinted-at elements including Latin, Mid-Eastern, jazz, bluegrass, Hawaiian and pop-rock. I play a variety of steel-string and nylon-string acoustic guitars, acoustic bass, two different Hawaiian ukuleles, a small South American 10-string charango, the occasional keyboard and a variety of percussion on the album. I am also joined by top musicians such as T-Bone Wolk(who has worked extensively with Hall & Oates) on bass, accordian and slide-guitar; Derrik Jordan on percussion; Jeff Oster on flugelhorn; Steve Schuch on violin; Patrick Gorman on drums; and others.
The new tunes “Look to the Sun” and “The Color of Sunshine” join “Under the Sun” from my first album and “A Little More Sunshine” from my second CD as part of an on-going “Sun Suite” featuring related musical themes. The next two compositions on the new album, “Gray Salt Marsh” and “Infrared: The Abyss,” depict the edge of the color spectrum."Gray Salt Marsh" was inspired by a foggy, overcast day exploring the protected wetlands near where I live; and ‘Infrared’ covers light we can not normally see which represents the unknown, that area beyond perception.
The color spectrum songs start with song “Alhambra (The Red)” which was inspired by the red sands of the Moorish desert and the pink-tinged fortress of that name in Spain, and continues with “Orange Blossom Honey” (a solo ukulele piece) and “Jaune (Yellow)” influenced by seeing people sick with jaundice or chronic Hepatitis C, watching their skin turn yellow, and following their difficult therapy procedures. Next is the solo guitar “Green Corn and Spring” a no-overdub tribute to my growing up in Indiana, “Mar Azul” is inspired by the Pacific Ocean, from where I live in San Francisco and all the way to South America, and “Violet Blue” has a bit of sadness in it. Following are two more edge-of-spectrum pieces -- another unseen-light number “UV Radiations” and one representing the absence of light “‘Black Rock Beach’ whixh is a place I go snorkeling with my son, Zack, in Hawaii, so he contributes on beat box and I use a Hawaiian taro-patch tuning on a tiny parlor guitar.
Thursday, November 1st, 2007 12:42 PM PDT
LAWRENCE BLATT HAS BEEN NAMED AS A FINALISTS OF THE 7TH ANNUAL INDEPENDENT MUSIC AWARDS FOR ALBUM OF THE YEAR -NEW AGE - INDIE ARTISTS FROM 6 CONTINENTS TO BE PROMOTED TO MORE THAN 20 MILLION & APPEAR IN 2008 EDITION OF THE MUSICIAN’S ATLAS
San Francisco, California based solo instrumentalist, Lawrence Blatt is among a diverse group of independent musicians named as winners of the 7th Annual Independent Music Awards. Guitarist and Composer Lawrence Blatt has been performing his finger-style-guitar compositions for over 30 years. His release: Out Of the Woodwork is the culmination of that history in layers and organic part writing. With thirteen soothing guitar melodies, many of which are played in open tunings, the collection can be called 'acoustic solitude. After spending years studying classical music as a violinist, Blatt's melodic yet intricate interaction of moods that lay beneath his alternate tunings are balanced by careful dynamics and intonation. Out Of the Woodwork was named as one of five finalists for IMA album of the year in the New Age category.
IMA Finalists will now advance to the final round of judging by a distinguished group of influential artists and industry insiders. The Judges who will determine this year’s IMA Winners include Suzanne Vega; Snoop Dogg, Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers; Les Claypool of Primus; Ray Davies of The Kinks; Susan Tedeschi, Frank Iero of My Chemical Romance; blues legend Charlie Musselwhite; Judy Collins; Rolling Stone contributing editor Anthony DeCurtis, MTV Music Supervisor, Carrie Hughes, Kevin Lyman of Vans Warped Tour and many others.
IMA Winners and Finalists winners will appear in the 10th Anniversary edition of
The Musician’s Atlas 2008, on sale December 18, 2007. Regarded as the industry’s most comprehensive contact directory, The Atlas is used by independent musicians and entrepreneurs to market and sell music more successfully.
Developed and coordinated by Music Resource Group, publisher of The Musician’s Atlas, the Independent Music Award program delivers a variety of premiums to Winners including:
Year-long marketing campaigns, partnerships and distribution alliances, that will place the Winners in front of millions of music fans and industry decision makers around the world.
The IMA Winners CD compilation will be distributed to 10,000 music fans and industry at events such as SXSW, Ozzfest, The Warped Tour throughout the year and promoted to more 650 US & Canadian college & public radio stations.
eMusic will promote IMA Winners to millions of their subscribers throughout 2008.
Borders Books & Music will promote IMA Winners more than 11 Million of their customers.
Exposure to nearly 10 million viewers of ManiaTV.com and Havoc TV.
Music fans will be casting their votes for their favorite IMA Finalists at www.IndependentMusicAwards.com at the IMA Vox Populi Jukebox.
For more information on the Musician’s Atlas and the Independent Music Awards contact Joelle Caputa (joelle@independentmusicawards.com) at 973-509-9898.
Sunday, April 1st, 2007 3:52 PM PDT
Lawrence Blatt’s composition “Jason’s Party” is featured on the new Lost Frontier Compilation CD “Lost Frontier Sampler 08” San Francisco, California: Lawrence Blatt’s composition “Jason’s Party” was selected for inclusion in the new compilation sampler album from the Barcelona, Spain based New Age radio program “Lost Frontier”.
“Lost Frontier” is the brainchild of radio personality and writer Javier Bedoya who has published interviews and articles in periodicals such “Margen Magazine”, “World 1 Music”, and “Mondo Sonoro” and is the music director and host of the radio program. The new compilation album entitled “Lost Frontier Sampler 08” is the eighth is a series of compilation derived from featured music on the radio program. Other artists included on the album are: Medwyn Goodall with Terry Oldfield, Tim Wheater & David Lord, Robert Scott Thompson, Francis Rimbert, and Joël Fajerman.
“It is truly an honor to have my work selected for inclusion with the gifted artist’s on this compilation. I am grateful to Javier for this opportunity” said Lawrence Blat when he learned that his work would be included in the compilation.
“Lost Frontier Sampler 08” is available online at
http://www.lostfrontier.org/launch/down_sampler_08_eng.htmlThe composition “Jason’s Party” is also featured on Lawrence Blatt’s CD “Out of the Woodwork” which is available at iTunes, CD Baby, Amazon, Target and other fine on-line retailers
Saturday, March 17th, 2007 8:59 AM PDT
Lawrence Blatt is now working with A&R Select, the leading independent A&R firm in Hollywood, CA. Click here to go to Lawrence Blatt's A&R Select Page
“Blatt's work is tightly-knit, intricate and seamless, and it flows with the natural beauty of a stream.” - A&R Select
Saturday, March 10th, 2007 7:57 PM PST
Lawrence Blatt’s “Out of the Woodwork” debuts at number 11 on the New Age Reporter Top 100 New Age/Ambient/World Radio/Internet Airwaves Chart San Francisco, California: Lawrence Blatt’s new solo album “Out of the Woodwork” was released to radio stations across the US in late January and early February. Station uptake has been steady and to date numerous radio programs are airing selections from the album. As a result of the station uptake, the album debuted at number 11 on the February 2007 New Age Reporter Top 100 New Age/Ambient/World Radio/Internet Airwaves Chart.
“I am so grateful to the program and music directors for allowing my music to be heard. There is no greater reward to an artist than to know that your music has a chance to touch so many lives. The radio airplay is one vehicle for this.” said Lawrence Blatt when he learned of the news regarding the placement of his album on the top 100 chart.
To view the entire New Age Reporter Top 100 New Age/Ambient/World Radio/Internet Airwaves Chart please click here.
http://www.newagereporter.com/charts/top100.asp
More about Lawrence Blatt
Lawrence Blatt is an independent solo artist who has been playing acoustic guitar for over 30 years. He is currently performing his original compositions for finger-style-guitar in the San Francisco Bay area. His music has been called heartwarming, soothing, and relaxing. His music consists of layers of guitar work decorated with luscious melodies and percussive moods. “As a solo instrumentalist I have to let my guitar be my voice. I try to create moods and express feelings by using alternate tunings, by careful attention to musical dynamics and intonation and by layering percussive sounds behind the main voice of the guitar. Sometime playing a phase softer or louder can have a significant impact on what is communicated. In some cases being a solo instrumentalist is difficult since I cannot use lyrics to directly express my thoughts and feelings. In another sense, this is highly cathartic as my music can communicate in any language and I can create new patterns of communication through sounds and rhythms.” said Blatt. His latest project is called "Out of the Woodwork" and is a compilation of thirteen original pieces that range from solo acoustic guitar works to multilayered complex compositions.
More about the New Age Reporter
The New age reporter was created to promote the New Age Music industry. In addition to new age music, the site also covers world music, ambient music, electronic music, Native American music, Celtic music, music for healing and relaxation, health and wellness music and many others. It provides a number of terrific services for artists, promoters, retailers and broadcasters of new age music, world music, ambient music, electronic music and other genres.
Friday, March 2nd, 2007 1:02 PM PST
Lawrence Blatt's "Out of the Woodwork" is reviewed by Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange Webzine - Mark S. Tucker of the Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange Webzine has written a review of Lawrence Blatt's album "Out of the Woodwork"
"Lawrence Blatt is a fingerpicker much interested in the more progressive aspects of the instrument within a purely instrumental milieu. He possesses a polished style glowing with light and introspective intelligence but also casting defining shadows.." said Tucker.
The review goes on to highlight the detailed aspect of many of the compositions including: "Where Have you Gone", "Out of the Woodwork", "Walking Alone " and "Under the Sun".
Tucker compares Blatt's style to several guitar masters " Blatt crosses the mid-ground of Alex DeGrassi and the more involved Fahey while picking up, as many unknowingly have, the sort of post-folk intelligence shown by the procession of Al Stewart's accompanists (Peter Wood et. al.) and by Stewart himself. Then like Carl Weingarten, one of the nearly-unknown masters in modern guitar work, he challenges himself even further, producing a couple of slack-key songs. In the main, however, Blatt keeps to a DAGDAD tuning with EVD Custom Acoustic and Wingert Parlor Acoustic guitars, bass and percussives bringing up the background, and an occasional very light synth coloring the corners. Some songs are solo workouts, others layered, but all show a cohesive effort to bolster the ability of the guitar to speak persuasively outside genre norms."
The complete review can be found at :
http://www.acousticmusic.com/fame/p04141.htm
Friday, March 2nd, 2007 1:01 PM PST
Lawrence Blatt"s "Out of the Woodwork" is reviewed by solo piano publications webzine Kathy Parsons, a freelance writer and contributor to Solo Piano Publications has written a review of Lawrence Blatt's album "Out of the Woodwork"
"It’s not too often that I receive acoustic guitar CDs to review, but Lawrence Blatt’s “Out of the Woodwork” has been a real treat! Some of the thirteen original pieces are solo guitar and some are layered with electric bass and various percussion instruments, all played by Blatt. The meticulous liner notes give insight into the inspiration for the individual pieces, and also name the specific guitars being played and how they are tuned. The music indicates a variety of influences from folk to classical to jazz guitar, and most of the songs are relaxing yet upbeat and optimistic. Both traditional and highly innovative, this is a great album on several levels" said Parsons.
Parsons goes on to highlight the detailed aspect of each of the compositions and most notably says, ““Where Have You Gone?” is one of the few somber pieces on the album. Reflecting on the deaths of loved ones, the music is passionate, conveying the powerful range of emotions that one experiences during this time. It’s an amazing piece.”
The complete review can be found at:
http://www.solopianopublications.com/reviews/blatt.htm
Sunday, February 11th, 2007 4:31 PM PST
Lawrence Blatt’s “Out of the Woodwork” is now airing on these fine radio programs You can listen to the web-rebroadcast at each station found on my link page
Nightscapes with host Anne Williams on WFAE: Sunday 7 pm-10 pm (Eastern)
The Cheezmuzik Programme with Christopher Albright on WTUL: Sundays 6 am-9 am (Eastern)
Galactic Voyager with host Meishel Menachekanian on KCSN: Tuesday 9 pm -Midnight (Pacific)
Tied to the Tracks with host Larry Wines on KCSN: Saturday from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. (Pacific)
Morning Breeze on KSBR: Sunday 6 am-Noon (Pacific)
Audiosyncracy with host Jamey Osborne on KTEP: Sunday 11 am-Noon (Central)
Nightstreams on KASU: Tuesday-Friday 2 am-5 am (Eastern)
Starlit Skies with host Maya on KSER: Wednesday 10 pm-Midnight (Pacific)
The World Beat with host Mark Thomas on KMSU and KMSK: Saturday 7-8 pm (Central)
Alpha Rhythms with host Jerry Kenney on WYSO: Sunday 8 -11 pm (Central)
Tonal Vision on WICN, Sunday 7 -9 pm (Eastern)
The Electric Croude with host George Maida on WCVE and WCNV: Sunday 12 -2 am (Eastern)
Soundwaves on WUSM
EclecTopia with host Jim Lange on WVPR
Music from the Cosmic Wheel with Brad Hartwell on WSCS: Thursday 7-9 pm (Eastern)
Night Tides with host Renee Blanche on KCUR: Sunday 8 pm-Midnight (Central)
Gift of Peace with host Lisa Brody on WJFF: Sunday 7-8 pm (Eastern)
Saturday Light Brigade on WRCT and WSAJ: Saturday 9 am-Noon (Eastern)
Earthtones with host Karen Larsen on WERU: Monday 2-4 pm (Eastern)
The Wallauerhour on WFAS: Sunday 11 pm-Midnight (Eastern)
New Frontier on WXDU: Saturday 10 am -1 pm (Eastern)
SOULFM 107.0Tauranga 88.4Mt Maunganui in New Zealand
La Otra Orilla/Radio Despi in Spain
Ultima Fronteira Radio in Spain.
Ultima Thule on 2MBS-FM and 5MBS-FM in Sydney and Adelaide Australia
Thursday, February 1st, 2007 7:12 AM PST
"Out of the Woodwork" is now available on iTunes - February 1, 2007Now you can purchase "Out of the Woodwork" or your favorate tracks from the album on iTunes. Go to the iTunes store on your iTunes navigator and search "Lawrence Blatt" to find the listing.
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