A burgeoning name in Australia's country-roots ranks, Blake Dantier recently released his debut longplayer titled 'Dry Season'.
A record that began life a month prior to the onset of the pandemic, 'Dry Season' has all the hallmarks of a classic honky-tonk project recorded in a backlot studio in Nashville.There's tales of lonesome drinking, pondering mortality, love gone wrong, and bittersweet ballads across the 11 tracks, which Blake wrote himself (aside from one co-write with Michael Carpenter).
Married to fellow country artist Cass Hopetoun, Blake even attracted the attention of Adam Harvey who duets on 'You Don't Mix Whiskey'.
"Some songs are autobiographical, some are almost totally made up," Dantier says.
"My only goal for this album was country songs that actually sound like country songs – something I don't feel there's enough of nowadays."
'Dry Season' was recorded with producer Simon Johnson from Hillbilly Hut Studios with a crew of 'country's slickest players' to create the throwback/ by-gone era feels.
"I wanted to combine that '70s outlaw vibe and attitude with the musicality of '90s Alan Jackson and Brooks and Dunn records."
Currently on the road touring with his next stop at the Tamworth Country Music Festival, here Blake shares a few piccies with a few stories from the album's recording sessions.
"We started tracking for 'Dry Season' on Monday 3 Feb, 2020. Back when I still bothered putting on pants and tucking my shirt in. This is me about to put down a guide vocal.
"The space we're in is Hillbilly Hut. It's a studio built inside of a large metal shed, at the back of Simon Johnson's (the album's producer and engineer) property.
"Simon and I caught up at the Tamworth Country Music Festival two weeks before this to discuss how we would do this day – I insisted on tracking with a live band.
"So here's Simon doing his thang. If you look real close, behind the computer monitor, you can see Brad Bergen's head in the next room. He's having a hit on the drums.
"There's a camera set up in the middle of the room because Michael Carpenter is running around somewhere, filming everybody. We used his footage to make the music video for 'I'd Do It Again'.
"They call me one-take Blake, but this must the rare occasion where I need a second take. . . This little cave is where acoustic guitars were tracked and all the vocal parts.
"On the first tracking day in February we did 6 of the 11 songs on the album. It wasn't until August that same year that we got back together and did the final five.
"Rod Motbey tracked acoustics in February, but Shane Nicholson did them in the August session.
"Splitting the sessions up like this was always the plan – to ease the financial burden. But I didn't expect I'd be sitting around at home with no work for all that time. . . thanks COVID.
"In all honesty though, I had a pretty good time during those months in between (after I found out there was govt support; phew). It was a break I didn't know I needed and it really allowed me to focus on what's important in my life, as I'm sure it did for many.
"So with all that time to write and tweak songs, I ended up with a slightly different album than I'd intended.
"This particular day was when we recorded the vocals for Ash and Dust. I'd almost completely rewritten the lyrics and changed the structure of the song, since we tracked in February. Ok, so maybe I had TOO much time on my hands.
"Here's Duncan Toombs overdubbing some guitar parts. Very serious stuff by the looks of it.
"The sound I wanted on this album was a mix between Waylon/ '70s country and Alan Jackson/ '90s country.
"Although I love playing guitar, I knew if we were gonna get some killer performances (like on Alan Jackson's records) we were gonna need some killer players.
"So I was more than happy to take a back seat and watch these guys work their magic. I suppose I ended up finding a little more self-confidence though, because I tracked electric guitars in the August sessions.
"The whole crew. At the end of tracking in February. Just a bunch of guys in blue jeans. . . standing around. . . trying not to look awkward. . . unsuccessfully. L to R: Simon Johnson, Rod Motbey, me, Brad Bergen, Duncan Toombs.
"Fun fact: Those doors behind us lead to a little bedroom, where Cass (my fiancée and the taker of all these photos) and I stayed for a few nights during this week.
"And now we're in August. It's gear central in this photo.
"Something you can't tell from this photo is that to my right is Duncan, also with a guitar in hand. He couldn't make it to the session the day before, where we tracked live with the band. So I filled in on electric guitar.
"We all liked what was going on, so when Dunc got there the next day we left my rig set up and tracked together. It led to a whole heap of harmonised guitar parts in the album's title track.
"The album wasn't finished until February the following year, 2021. I guess we stopped taking photos 'cause, well, that's a long time to be tracking an album I think.
"There were more rewrites and re-tracking of vocals. Heaps of players adding their instruments remotely, like pedal steel, fiddle, accordion, mandolin, dobro, keys. . . the list goes on. If it's country it's on this record."
Blake Dantier 2022 Tour Dates
Thu 21 Apr - Tamworth Country Music Festival 50th Anniversary ConcertFri 22 Apr - Big Golden Guitar (Tamworth)
Thu 28 Apr - The Malt Shovel Taphouse (Sunshine Coast)*
Fri 29 Apr - Bay Tavern (Hervey Bay)*
Sat 30 Apr - Racehorse Hotel (Ipswich)*
Thu 9 Jun – The Vanguard (Sydney)
Thu 4 Aug - Hallam Hotel (Melbourne)*
Fri 5 Aug - Gateway Hotel (Geelong)*
*supporting Jayne Denham
