Erik Bleich
“Curtains-drawn, skin-bare pieces delivered with such
delicacy that they risk breaking up, like a radio signal.”
Sam Boer (Singer/Songwriter/Playwrite/Podcast Host/Human)
Seeking to find a place between what can sometimes feel like opposing worlds, singer/songwriter Erik Bleich creates street-lit lullabies & manic, rambling romps that wander the side streets between rural isolation and metropolitan congestion. From humble origins in a small Northwestern Ontario mill town, to life in his adopted city of Toronto, Bleich’s work reflects his own lived experience. Personal narratives of Canadians seeking identity and autonomy in an increasingly global community. It’s his vision of folk music for the Internet Age.
Released with love on Valentine's Day 2022, the five song EP: "More Than Anything You’ve Feared" is a vulnerable song cycle built around the rises and falls, mental instability and quiet bliss of domestic partnership. Written and recorded in the Pre-Pandemic “Before Times” this vulnerable offering is perhaps more relevant now than ever. From shared loss to personal triumphs, Bleich's intimate writing is swathed at times in murky strings, familiar waltzes and eerie soundscapes. The latter giving way to kaleidoscopic waves of chiming glockenspiel, trumpet fanfare and lush swells of accordion, violin, and battered guitar.
Whether weaving a wandering path between shy-witted banter and sprawling narratives in a quiet living room or leading a cinematic, chamber folk ensemble in a lifeful venue, Bleich’s vulnerability and playfulness shine in equal measures, connecting with those in need of his particular wavelength of compassion.
