From New Orleans comes Alternative/Dream Pop artist, Cali Blake. With a slowly drawling voice reminiscent of Lana Del Rey, she’s released her album, ‘Cicadas In The Sun’.
It’s a fresh and very very raw and confronting sound that we encounter when we listen to Cali Blake. Sounding almost dangerous, Cali stalks catlike through her songs, touching each note with tenderness and affection. We say she reminds us of Lana Del Rey – there’s an element of Eartha Kitt there as well. ‘Rewound’, the fourth song on the album, makes us think this especially, The following song, ‘Island In My Mind’ is possibly the most trancelike and dreamy of all the songs on the album, Cali’s voice perfectly matching the long drawn out strings and steady percussion.
There’s something of a far eastern flavour to the music on this album – ‘Love Contract’ calls to mind the cello playing of Barrington Pheloung. Altogether it’s a gorgeous album, the stand out track (among many) being the lead song, ‘High’, with its sultry and smooth sound.
Cali was born and raised in New Orleans, where she was constantly surrounded by the art, fashion and jazz music of the city. It’s this last sound which she gently weaves within the structure of her music. Developing a love for dance and playing instruments from a very early age, Cali learned to play piano and guitar by ear, followed by violin and harmonica. She’s an avid artist, whose paintings are abstract pieces that are obviously an extension of herself.
You can find Cali Blake online on her official website, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Soundcloud.
Check out ‘High’:
