Karl Blake - Musical Career

Musical Career

Blake is most noted, in addition to his solo work, for his work with Lemon Kittens, Danielle Dax, Shock Headed Peters, Sol Invictus, Current 93, Left Hand Right Hand, Seven Pines and Gaë Bolg and the church of Fand. Other past projects include Alternative TV, The Underneath, Evil Twin, British Racing Green and various other solo and session work.

He began playing and self-recording in 1973/4, and his first band to have a commercially released record, Lemon Kittens, was formed by Blake and Gary Thatcher on April 5th 1978. It went through numerous line-up changes before it again became a two-piece group consisting of Blake and Danielle Dax, with the addition of others for live performance (the group only played around 22 concerts during their entire existence). Between 1979 and 1981, Lemon Kittens released two albums as well as two EPs, described by Simon Reynolds as "aggressively absurdist records". Cassette-only Lemon Kittens recordings were made under the name Gland Shrouds in 1980.

Blake also released solo cassettes, including Tank Death and The New Pollution. In 1984 he formed Shock Headed Peters with Dave Knight. In 1986 he started The Underneath, a solo project, releasing an EP and an album featuring various guests. Shock Headed Peters disbanded in October 1987 before reforming in 1990, again with founder-members Blake and Knight. In 1987, weeks after Shock Headed Peters' first disbanding, Evil Twin and British Racing Green were formed. Evil Twin was Karl Blake and David Mellor, with the addition of guest vocalist Amy Rodenberg. They recorded one album, The Black Spot, between 1987 and 1991. Both groups are dormant since the early 1990s.

Blake toured extensively and recorded with Left Hand Right Hand from 1988 through until 2004. In 2005 Blake split ways with Sol Invictus, the group he had long been associated with through studio recordings and live appearances, and denounced both the group and the neofolk genre for, in his view, right wing leanings. At present, Blake plays (live only) for Gaë Bolg and the Church of Fand and also for Seven Pines. The instrumental track Zoé on the Seven Pines CD Le Cri was in fact written and performed by Blake on the spot and, unknown to him, orchestrated and released by the leader of Gaë Bolg, Eric Roger. It is one of the last recorded pieces by Blake to be released to date.