17 November 2025
Every Monday I will be bringing you an interview with an independent band, duo or music artist. This week, I caught up with Chippenham based artist Blake to find out more…
Where are you from and how did you first get into music?
I’m from Birmingham originally but I’ve lived in Wales and Cheltenham and now reside in Chippenham in Wiltshire. I first got into music when my parents bought me a copy of The Beatles Ballads on cassette for Christmas 1980. This led to a life-long love of The Beatles and to me discovering that my dad had interviewed John Lennon for the Birmingham Evening Mail in 1969! At the age of fourteen I was asked to sing in an originals band at my school in Cardiff called Cerebral Infarction. Apparently, I was overheard singing to myself in art class. I’d never given any thought to joining a band before then. When I moved to Gloucestershire, I formed my own band, Embryo, which, many years and many line-up changes later, morphed into Karma Truffle. We got signed to London-based indie label, Ecto Music, in 2004. The band folded after a couple of years and I have been pursuing a solo career since.
Who were your musical influences when you were growing up and who are your influences now?
I’ve already mentioned The Beatles. Another big influence is The Velvet Underground. Another cassette tape, gifted to me this time by a cousin when I was about fourteen, was a compilation of material from their first three LPs and I fell in love with it. I developed a lo-fi approach to music making as a result of that tape. I realised that it was capturing the essence of a song that was the important thing, and that high fidelity, while sometimes nice, is really not essential. Bob Dylan was another early influence and the same could be said of him in terms of having a direct approach to capturing the spirit of a song. These influences remain but others include Elliott Smith, Richard Thompson, Donovan, Badfinger and Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac.
How would you describe your sound?
Hmm, that’s a tricky one because my strapline is ‘File under: “Eclectic”.’ I like to write in different styles, so there are some heavy tracks on Flamingo Road but also some lighter acoustic songs and some somewhere in-between. I think what I picked up from The Beatles, particularly on their later records, is that diversity is good. I feel that it’s limiting to have expectations of a certain ‘sound.’ I just write songs in whatever form they come to me, regardless of genre. I appreciate that this creates difficulties when it comes to classifying and marketing music, however.
What is your latest release called and what was the influence behind it?
My latest album came out on 7th November. It’s called ‘Flamingo Road’ and I recorded it at home, producing and playing all the instruments. I couldn’t afford to go into a recording studio for this record. My preferred method is to record live with my band, but this time I had to layer the tracks one by one. The process is tedious and obviously not as enjoyable as recording with your mates with someone else behind the desk, but I was satisfied with the results, eventually. It’s the mixing process that I find really difficult. My experience of recording in professional studios has taught me that I know next to nothing as a sound engineer. Watching YouTube video tutorials saved the day, thankfully!
Regarding the influence behind it, it’s a collection of songs written mostly this year. Some deal with relationships and others with recent world events. However, the title track was written with my dear, late friend Magda McCaffry, with whom I formed Karma Truffle in 2003. Magda sadly passed in 2023 and I recorded the song in her memory.
What’s your local music scene like?
There are some good local venues catering for original music. For instance, I am performing an album launch show at ‘Schtumm’ at The Queen’s Head in Box, Wiltshire on Saturday 29th November. Schtumm has been putting on live music from original local acts for many years. Swindon is near to Chippenham and there are some excellent live music venues there that I have performed at many times in the past.
What do you have planned for the next 12 months?
I am working on a release of previously unheard material that dates back as far as pre-Karma Truffle days. I discovered a box of old four-track tapes in the loft that I am transferring to digital so I can remix and master them. It’s strange because there is some material on it that I have absolutely no memory of recording. I might be showing my age here. I have been doing this a long time!
Is there anyone you’d love to collaborate with?
I have frequent dreams about being friends with Belle and Sebastian. I admire Stuart Murdoch tremendously so if it ever miraculously comes to pass that we write a song together, I think I’d die happy.
Any funny stories surrounding your live performances?
For almost 20 years I played the role of John Lennon in a Beatles tribute act I formed called ‘All You Need Is The Beatles’. We were engaged to play at a private event one time and the person who had booked us requested that we play his favourite Beatles song, ‘Hey Bulldog’, during our set. I had decided to take the guitar solo but when it came to my break I couldn’t remember how to play it. I panicked and walked off-stage to seek shelter behind the stage curtain. What I had forgotten was that the stage curtain was for appearances only and was simply a backdrop, behind which was a concrete wall. I was unable to save my embarrassment by hiding away and ever since then my band refer to the incident as “the curtain of shame.”
Do you have any upcoming live dates and performances?
Saturday 29th November at Schtumm, The Queen’s Head, Box, Wiltshire, SN13 8NH. Support from Thieves. 7pm to 10pm. £10. Tickets: https://www.schtumm.co.uk/event-details-registration/schtumm-presents-this-is-blake-thieves
What is the one thing that you want readers to know about you?
The ‘Hey Bulldog’ solo is now hardwired into my brain!
You can find out more about Blake via Apple Music, Bandcamp, Facebook, Instagram, SoundCloud, Spotify, Threads, TikTok, X (Twitter), YouTube (channel) or YouTube Music.
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