STRATEGIC ARTIST ADVOCACY SINCE 1997
"'Soft Exchange' simmers at the edge of lush art pop and melodic indie rock, carried by meditative keys and meandering guitar lines.
“Karl Blau’s soft vocals and the band’s instrumentation gently craft a pastoral scene and the results fit effortlessly into the track’s hazy summer backdrop."
Thanks to Under the Radar for the kind words about my favorite song from the debut EP by Opal Eskar! See the premiere at the link.
Vinyl at Bandcamp!
"Karl will continue to be one of our country’s finest songwriters, coast to coast."
Thanks to KEXP for chatting with Karl Blau about the debut EP (out now) by Opal Eskar, his new collaborative project with Heyward Howkins and Chet Delcampo of Later Fortune along with Charlie Hall and Robbie Bennett of The War On Drugs.
Click the link for the full article, or hear it on the air tomorrow (Saturday, May 20). Listen to the EP and buy vinyl here.
"And this band of music nerds digs deep, eschewing all the obvious greatest hits for the Wilson/Love Sunflower tune “All I Wanna Do,” bringing a dose of dreamy horn-flecked psychedelia."
Hear Opal Eskar covering the Beach Boys over at Cover Me!
Debut EP out tomorrow. Order vinyl: https://opaleskar.bandcamp.com/
Opal Eskar is Karl Blau, Heyward Howkins, and Chet Delcampo with Charlie Hall and Robbie Bennett of The War On Drugs.
Click for your life!
"Philadelphia, PA, has always been a hotbed of talent in the American Rock Underground, and Opal Eskar serves as the quintessence of its role in the city’s culture."
Thanks to Rock and Roll Globe for premiering the video for "Open Mind!" by Opal Eskar, a collaboration of some of Philly's busiest musicians.
cc Karl Blau Heyward Howkins Chet Delcampo
Vinyl pre-order here.
Click for your life!
"It’s just the right amount of hallucinatory, which pairs well with its themes of opening the doors of perception." — Treble
The bass line on "Open Mind!" by Opal Eskar sends me. Listen at the link today and everywhere tomorrow.
Opal Eskar is Karl Blau, Chet & Heyward of Later Fortune with Charlie & Robbie of The War On Drugs.
Vinyl pre-order here.
Click for your life!
"With a soulful psychedelic swell, we are greeted by ‘The Woodsman,’ the latest offering from Opal Eskar, a collaborative project from the prolifically diverse DIY icon Karl Blau."
cc: Heyward Howkins; Chet Delcampo
Thanks to Folk Radio UK for the love!
"A quirky blend of hypnotic indie pop and gently percussive low-fi soul... Opal Eskar may very well have captured laconic reflection better than anyone else in recent memory."
"The Woodsman" is the new video out today from Opal Eskar aka Karl Blau, Heyward & Chet from Later Fortune with Charlie & Robbie from The War On Drugs!
Check it out now via Stereo Embers and head over to your friendly local Bandcamp to buy yer vinyl copy!
As tough and debilitating as it may be at times, especially when there are hard things to share, ‘The Woodsman’ is about how having an honest relationship makes for a deeper relationship.”
We have the next single from Opal Eskar (Karl Blau + Heyward & Chet of Later Fortune w/ Charlie & Robbie of The War On Drugs) out this Friday! Hear "The Woodsman" over at Ghettoblaster now!
Julie Casper Roth (director of gorgeous videos for Low) says "And Yet Love Rules" by Opal Eskar is "a rumination on nostalgia or memory – its imperfection, its fragments, and its shifting prominence in our lives."
Julie's video is a perfect accompaniment to the song, which For The Rabbits says is "a suitably dreamy affair, combining widescreen Americana with the smooth luxury of The The or Matthew E. White."
Click to watch! Opal Eskar is Karl Blau, Heyward Howkins, and Chet Delcampo with Charlie Hall and Robbie Bennett of The War on Drugs. Debut EP out May 19.
Wanna listen to this?
Glide Magazine: "Blissful... ethereal... an eclectically pleasing sound that brings to mind the more artsy and mellow work of acts like TV On The Radio."
Opal Eskar is Karl Blau, Chet Delcampo & Heyward Howkins of Later Fortune, and Charlie Hall & Robbie Bennett of The War On Drugs.
Debut EP out May 19. Single out tomorrow (Friday, March 17). Hear "And Yet Love Rules" over at Glide today… click for your life!
In its premiere coverage of the debut single by Opal Eskar, Philadelphia's NPR-affiliate WXPN writes, "Longtime Philly scenesters Chet Delcampo (of Hong Kong Stingray and more) and Heyward Howkins teamed up with the comparatively new-to-town Karl Blau on a dreamy new project called Opal Eskar.
"Dappled in light bongo beats, a rippling guitar undercurrent, and layered vocal harmonies, the project’s new single is a Philly answer to Phosphorescent... 'Sunlight Is Breakin’ Out' is a reflection of the languid heat wave energy while a solid means of keeping sonically cool."
The debut self-titled EP by Opal Eskar is scheduled for release on May 19, 2023 via Spiral Valley Records.