Live Review: PREMIERE: Let Jerome Blazé take you higher with his new single, 'UP'

Sydney multi-instrumentalist Jerome Blazé makes his very welcome return this week with perhaps the most uplifting song we've heard in a long time, so we're thrilled to be premiering it today on Purple Sneakers.

Aptly titled 'UP', that's exactly where it takes you thanks to its warm piano and crisp beats intertwining with a string quartet, sax sextet and a casual harp thrown in for good measure. For fans of Tourist, Mura Masa or even more locally, Oisima, Blazé elevates his sound so brilliantly and effortlessly in this latest release. Like pulling back the curtains to let the light fully in, 'UP' transports you far away thanks to its emotive nature, getting right in under your skin from the first gentle piano keys.

Enlisting the help of his peers from the The Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Blazé continues his rise with 'UP', building on the exciting foundation he laid with his previous single, 'Chame'. Because we're so excited about him, we wanted to get to know the man himself a bit better. Take a listen to 'UP' below, and read on to find out all about Jerome Blazé.

Who are you?

I'm Jerome! I'm a musician/producer/pianist based currently at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. I also love to go on hikes and expeditions to break it all up!

How did Jerome Blazé come to be?

I've been playing piano for most of my life, but I picked up production at the beginning of high school. I started out making shitty dubstep for a while, but gradually developed into the more live and natural sound that I'm living in now. I grew up in a beautiful rural area called the Southern Highlands, but moving to Sydney after high school played a huge role in opening up my world and really cementing my tendencies as a producer. Not only was I making more music for myself, but I started working as a producer with other artists too. I think that really helped me (and continues to help me) understand creativity.

What are we talking, vibes-wise? 

Bright and positive music that straddles the line between electronic and acoustic. It's both vast sounding and intimately personal. Even though I make music that's mostly instrumental, I make songs. I'll always tell a story or reveal something meaningful.

Tell us more about your single, 'UP'?

'UP' is about persistence and resolve, that idea of getting up in the morning and moving forwards regardless of what you're feeling. It's a feeling and an idea that I think of on a number of levels - on a personal rise it's about coming out of a negative headspace after the end of a relationship, but on a broader scale it's about being active and taking control of our shared future in the midst of the climate crisis. The number of musicians involved in the song - with the sax sextet and string quartet - is a reflection of the outward looking nature of the song. The idea started when we were on a particularly hard stretch of a hike I did in Nepal at the beginning of 2019. I see mountains in my head every time I hear it!

What can we expect from you in the months ahead?

'UP' is the first single from my forthcoming EP. Don't want to give too much away right now, but I'm very proud of the songs you'll hear soon - everything will make a lot more sense. Working on a few live videos for the songs, 'UP' being one of them, and also a proper music video. That's really exciting because I've never done a full on music vid before! Lots of other fun things surrounding the release to come!

Where can we hear more from you?

Spotify, Apple Music, Soundcloud, all the good places. There's also a playlist of my production work on Spotify, lots more being added to that this year ;) A live show is on the (far) horizon at the end of the year, but if you want to hear me live before then we'll be doing a little stripped back show around the release of the EP. Stay tuned for that!

'UP' is out February 28th via Eyegaze.

Introduction by Emma Jones

LISTEN TO NEW MUSIC HERE

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