Blake Alexander - One And Only
All music and lyrics by Tyler Nimon, except:
“Wanna Be With Her” (Alexander, Ruiz, One, Forth)
“Moving On” (Lim)
“Got You Girl” (Alexander, Wilke, Nimon)
“Love Again” (Lim)
Mixed and mastered by Roland Lim
Produced by Tyler Nimon, Roland Lim,
and Blake Alexander
(https://www.mixingbyrolandlim.com/)
(https://www.blakealexanderentertainment.com/)
Engineered by
Tyler Nimon (Rudiez Studios - Kobe, Japan)
Roland Lim (PaperThin Studios - Chicago, Illinois)
Album photos by Roland Lim, Jr.
Album art by Hannah Stroh
Horn sections arranged by Terry “Sonny Lee” Tritt
Performing Credits: Blake Alexander - Lead vocals (all tracks), backing vocals (tracks 1 and 2) Tyler Nimon - Piano (tracks 1, 3, 4, 6), organ (tracks 1-6), bass (tracks 1-6), electric and acoustic guitars (tracks 1-6), tambourine (tracks 3 and 4), backing vocals (track 2) Roland Lim - Piano (track 7), electric piano (track 2), drums (track 2), shaker (track 2), synth (track 2), sound effects (tracks 1 and 2) James Hamilton - Drums (tracks 1, 4, 5, and 6) Hideki Enomoto - Drums (track 3) Adrian Ruiz - Intro and outro piano (track 1) Terry “SonnyLee” Tritt - Tenor saxophone (tracks 1, 4, 5, and 6) John Mose - Trombone (tracks 1, 4, 5, and 6) Michael McGrath - Trumpet (tracks 1, 4, 5, and 6) Christine C. Whack - Backing vocals (tracks 3 and 4) Lauren Dukes - Backing vocals (tracks 3 and 4)
Liner Notes by Tyler
Recorded back-and-forth between Japan and the USA over a three-year period, Blake Alexander’s debut album “One And Only” is finally released for all to hear. It is the first full-length album co-produced with my lifelong friend and collaborator Roland Lim. The album has a long and complicated story, but here is the gist of it: If you know me, then you probably know that Roland Lim and I have been making music together for most of our lives. We have been recording together on and off since we were about 12 years old. Before that, we played in grade school band together. Also, Roland has known Blake since high school. The two reconnected several years later when Roland did production work for him, recording his first singles. Fast forward to 2020, the heart of the pandemic—I was back living in Kobe, Japan. Shortly after the lockdowns began, my good friend, Jimmy MacGillivray (owner of Rudiez Studios), and I re-purposed one of his rehearsal studios, turning it into a recording space. Over the next year and a half, I spent all my spare time in that studio, recording as much music as possible and honing my music production skills.
Blake heard an original song that Roland and I were working on and asked me if he could sing it. I thought about it deeply and decided that I wanted to keep the song. In return, however, I offered to write and record original music for him. That was when the idea of Blake’s album came about. For the next two years, I wrote and recorded songs for the album and even arranged some songs that Blake had written with his friends. We also decided to include the earlier singles that Blake and Roland had recorded years ago (Roland’s original music), updating them with new musical parts. Before we knew it, the EP that we had planned morphed into a full-length album, and we knew that we had something very special on our hands.
After a few years of non-music-related pursuits, it was finally time for the return of Roland and me as co-producers! I arranged and recorded basic (scratch) tracks at the studio in Japan and then sent them to him in America. James Hamilton came over to Roland’s studio to record the drums, and then Roland sent those tracks back to me. After receiving those, I recorded on top of them, multilayering like mad. Then I would send my tracks back to him, etc. Over time, I connected with local drummer (and medical doctor/university professor) Hideki Enomoto, who later became my go-to drummer in Japan. As for Blake, he actually began his performing career as a magician, only later realizing his natural gift for singing. He quickly shifted his focus to performing music full-time at various events in the Chicagoland area and beyond. I had never met Blake but had heard his music through Roland. As Roland and I restarted our music production careers, the idea of involving Blake came up.
This is by far the biggest musical production that I have ever been a part of. The most surreal part of this is that it was done in true pandemic fashion, almost completely remotely. All of my parts and Hideki‘s parts were recorded in Japan, and everyone else’s parts were recorded in America. I am still amazed that we were able to pull something like this off and have it come out like it did. Roland and I are continuing our work with Blake and have several follow-up releases planned. Working with these two has been one of the great pleasures of my life and I look forward to continuing this journey, wherever it may lead. Tyler Nimon
