Erik Blood was born in Tacoma, WA in December of 1976. By 1980, he was stealing 45s out of his sister’s bedroom while she slept. At 7, Blood became obsessed with Prince and hip-hop. At 13, when his sister moved away for school, Blood began stealing his mother’s records, which consisted mainly of 60’s and 70’s soul and disco. From 14 to 16, he made beats on a Fostex 4-track in his bedroom for kids who wanted to rap in school talent shows. At 16, Blood bought a guitar after hearing Cocteau Twins and My Bloody Valentine. He also came out of the closet that year.

Erik moved to Seattle at 18 and studied audio production at The Art Institute of Seattle. Two years and $30,000 later, Erik emerged penniless and got a job at a video store, during which time he joined the band Mountain Con as their DJ after producing their album The M.C. Stands for Revolution. The album was disfigured before it’s release and Blood quietly left the band after two national tours. He also left the video store for a job at Amazon.com.

Erik then joined The Turn-ons in 2000 after producing their self-titled debut album and became a legal courier. He produced and co-wrote 4 albums and 1 EP with The Turn-ons and played shows across the United States between the years of 2000 and 2008. During this time, he also produced several acclaimed releases from NW artists, including The Lights, Charming Snakes, Charmparticles, and The Catch.

Erik quit his legal courier job in 2007 to concentrate on being a producer and musician, which resulted in albums by AltSpeak, The Moondoggies, The Little Penguins, Tea Cozies, DeVries, Shabazz Palaces, and Coulter. Blood also wrote and produced his first album of original material called The Way We Live, which was released in May of 2009 and hailed by music press as “destined for pop-classic status”* and “nearly a perfect album”.**

Blood went back to his legal courier job in 2010 to make extra money. He then went on to score the film “Center of Gravity” while simultaneously co-producing Shabazz Palaces’ acclaimed album Black Up and THEE Satisfaction’s awE naturalE, and writing and recording his 2nd solo album (3rd release) TOUCH SCREENS (release date: August 7, 2012). TOUCH SCREENS has been called “BRILLIANT!”***, “Fucking amazing!”****, and “one of the best records I’ve ever heard”***** by music journalists. Blood is just happy that it’s available on vinyl.

2012 will also bring Blood produced albums by Crypts (Sargent House Records) and Stephanie, as well as collaborations with visionary producer/musician OC Notes, VOX MOD, and Stres. He will also play shows in cities that aren’t Seattle as often as possible.

* Dave Segal – The Stranger (Shoe-Gays and the Pop Narcotic)
** thefinestkiss.com
*** John Richards – KEXP
**** Charles Mudede – The Stranger
***** Roy Christopher – roychristopher.com