King of Circles, by Mike Bloom

King of Circles

by Mike Bloom

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1.	Til It's Over 04:20	buy track
2.	Buther's Paper 03:45	buy track
3.	Afterthought to War 02:17	buy track
4.	Red Light, Green Light 02:33	buy track
5.	Gold Mine 03:58	buy track
6.	Anything But This 03:00	buy track
7.	Dry Land 04:21	buy track
8.	Your Heart Left Town 04:08	buy track
9.	Floataway Sinner 03:47	buy track
10.	Devil's Island 03:35	buy track
11.	Top of the World 02:39	buy track
12.	King of Circles 03:30	buy track

about

Buy the CD at littlerecordcompany.com

Los Angeles-based Mike Bloom is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who is co-founder of The Elected with Blake Sennett of Rilo Kiley and a member of Julian Casablan- cas’ band. After years of contributing to critically acclaimed recordings by Rilo Kiley, Jenny Lewis and others, his debut solo album King of Circles will be released June 7th on Pierre de Reeder’s (Rilo Kiley) Little Record Company.
All of the songs were written, most instruments played, and every song produced and mixed by Mike (with the exception of a few co-productions). His songwriting is at once uniquely his own, and curiously familiar. The warm, bedroom intimacy draws listeners in - there is a wealth of instrumentation and sonic detail augmenting the vocal/acoustic guitar center- piece. King of Circles was originally funded by actor Tobey Maguire before landing at de Reeder’s new label.
Songs with more than a little in common with the canon of
Carson McCullers abound on King of Circles. The scornful
woman in “Floataway Sinner” extracts revenge on her hap-
less victim, saying “Hold on baby, don’t you float away sinner,
Gonna pay for your acts, and that’s all” – her closing shot
reveals a moral compass off course when she explains, “...us long shots ain’t supposed to win clean”. “Butcher’s Paper” started life as a guitar piece he recorded – when Jenny Lewis heard it she whipped out a set of lyrics and recorded it over Mike’s playing and sent it back to him. An evocative love song with starkly vivid lyrics resulted with this refrain, “Wrapped in twine, the butcher’s paper, my bloody heart inside”. Longtime friend/bandmate Blake Sennett (Rilo Kiley, The Elected) contributes vocals on “Til It’s Over” (The Elected have an album coming out in May as well, Mike co-produced and plays a multitude of instruments) The title track addresses emotional ambiguity as a form of revenge; “Dry Land” paints the pic- ture of a long marriage at its expiration date with gentle acoustic guitar and Bloom’s lyric, “...this is the empty glass at the party’s end.” “Devil’s Island” can be heard in the new Sony Pictures thriller, The Roommate.
With his packed schedule touring and doing recording sessions, the songs were written and recorded over a period of years. “Some came directly from my bedroom demos and landed on the record almost untouched,” he explains “Some are much older than others, but they still felt like they belonged here.” Touring in the US and Europe, he honed the songs the old fashioned way, in front of live audiences.

credits

released June 7, 2011

Til It's Over:
MB: Guitars/Vocals/Lap Steel/Mandolin/Autoharp
Blake Sennett: Back Vocs
Jason Boesel: Drums
Brett Simons: Bass
Adam MacDougall: Wurlitzer
Bill Lefler: Percussion, Piano
Dre Babinski: Violin

Butcher's Paper:
MB: Guitars/Vocals/Drums/Bass/Autoharp/Keys/Percussion
Erik Kang: Violin
Emily Watkins: Back Vocs
Bill Lefler: Toms
Danny Levin: Euphonium
Dave Moyer: Flute
Stu Cole: Trumpet

Afterthought To War:
MB: Guitars/Vocals
Jason Boesel: Drums
Brett Simons: Upright Bass
Bill Lefler: Piano/Organ
Danny Levin: trumpet
Dave Moyer: Bass Clarinet
Bill Lefler, Dave Moyer, Danny Levin, MB: Stomps and Claps

Red Light, Green Light:
MB: Guitars/Vocals/Bass/Piano/Organ/Keys/Percussion
Blaire Eltringham: Back Vocs

Gold Mine:
MB: Guitars/Vocals/Drums/Keys/E-Bow
Jason Lader: Bass
Bill Lefler: Lap & Auxiliary Percussion
Jake Bercovici & MB: Ghost Bass

Anything But This:
MB: Guitars/Vocals/Bass/Piano/Organ/Keys/Percussion
Jason Boesel: Drums
Chris Fry: Castanets
Erik Kang: Violin

Dry Land:
MB: Guitars/Vocals/Bass/Organ/Mellotron/Percussion
Bill Lefler: Piano, Percussion
Danny Levin: Flugelhorn
Dre Babinski: Violin
Alex Iadarola: Cello
Lindsey Ray: Additional Piano

Your Heart Left Town:
MB: Guitars/Vocals/Lap Steel/Autoharp
Bill Lefler: Piano, Organ, Percussion
Jason Boesel: Drums
Brett Simons: Bass
Lindsey Ray: Back Vocs

Floataway Sinner:
MB: Guitars/Vocals/Mandolin/Piano
Jason Boesel: Snare Drum
Brett Simons: Upright Bass
Bill Lefler: Orchestral Percussion/Bells
Danny Levin: Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Euphonium
Dave Moyer: Flute, Bass Clarinet, Baritone Sax
Dre Babinski: Violin
Alex Iadarola: Cello

Devil's Island:
MB: Guitars/Vocals/Bass/Piano/Keys/Omnichord
Bill Lefler: Drums/Percussion/Guitar
Alex Iadarola: Cello

Top of the World:
MB: Guitar/Vocal

King of Circles:
MB: Guitar/Vocals/Bass/Mellotron/Blues Harp/Percussion
Bill Lefler: Drums

All songs written by Mike Bloom, From the Cave Music (BMI), except "Butcher's Paper" - written by Mike Bloom/Jenny Lewis, and "Til It's Over" - written by Mike Bloom/Blake Sennett

Produced by Mike Bloom
Additional Production by Bill Lefler, Danny Kalb, and Blake Sennett
Mixed by Mike Bloom
Mastered by Pete Lyman at Infrasonic Sound
String arrangements by Mike Bloom, except "Floataway Sinner" - arranged by Nate Walcott
Cover photo by Scott Bloom
Tray painting by She-la Early
Back cover photo by Blaire Eltringham

Recorded in Los Angeles at either: Pulse Recording, The Deathstar, or The Cave - except "Top of the World" recorded by Brian Blackburn at Blackburn Studio. Minor additional tracking done in Indianapolis at Queen Size.

My supreme gratitude, love and appreciation to: Blaire, Mom, Dad, Scott, and Brian.

Additional thanks: Anita, Joe & Yola Carbone, Jenelle, Marni, Murray, Duke, Tobey, Darin Harmon, Danny Kalb, Bill Lefler, Blake Sennett, Pete Lyman, Michael Friedman, Lia Vollack, The Regulator, Lindsey Ray, Baby Neddy, Moyer, Dre, Jason Boesel, Nate Walcott, Alan Semerdjian, Brian & Pam Blackburn, Chris and Andy Fry, Richard Edwards, Tyler Watkins, Erik, Casey, Emily, Hubert, She-la and James, Jake Bercovici, Jeff Kite, Jake Bellows, Robin and Steve, Klugman, Runion, Ziti, Lewis, Fauske, Matt Iselin, Adam Mugavero, Becky, Yurowsky, Jim Sarle, Der Baca, and all other bros elsewhere in the universe..

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