[Photo Credit: Eric Walsh]

Chicago, Illinois-based progressive Warr guitarist JASON BLAKE presents The Compromise Rationale, the middle release in the Ternary Instinct themed trilogy of albums, the record now confirmed for September release through Wayfarer Records.

The Warr Guitar is a twelve-string instrument incorporating the range of a guitar and bass, which is performed by tapping the strings; a technique known as touchstyle guitar. JASON BLAKE plays with the progressive metal instrumental trio, Aziola Cry, who recently released their album, The Ironic Divide, on Sensory Records in early 2021. With this band, he writes music featuring the rhythmic and melodic capabilities of the Warr Guitar in a band setting.

For his solo work, JASON BLAKE pushes the boundaries of the instrument while incorporating elements of progressive rock, ambient, and classical. Signed to the Wayfarer Records label, BLAKE released the first album of a planned progressive ambient trilogy in June of 2021. Beginning the Ternary Instinct trilogy, the album Fictional Mirrors is a musical study of the superego in Freud’s psychoanalytic theory.

Separate from the trilogy, JASON BLAKE followed Fictional Mirrors with Imaginary Cages, a six-song progressive rock suite of solo Warr guitar. “I had this idea to explore the theme of loneliness inside of one’s mind. Then, the lockdown occurred, and I felt that this was the time to begin composing the music.” The album, featuring some of BLAKE’s most complicated work to date, led Betreutes Proggen to claim, “He once again confirms why he is one of the most distinguished technicians on the Warr.”

Now, JASON BLAKE returns with part two of his Ternary Instinct trilogy. Whereas Fictional Mirrors represented the superego in psychoanalytical theory, second installment The Compromise Rationale tackles the ego. The album takes on a much more heavy and dark tone as compared to its predecessor. As BLAKE puts it, “I write this music similar to how I compose for Aziola Cry. I begin with Warr guitar parts in odd time signatures and layer heavy guitar parts throughout. The lack of drums and addition of ambient soundscapes is what separates the music.” As with both albums, all sounds were created solely using the Warr Guitar.

The Compromise Rationale deploys seven expansive new songs totaling more than forty-two minutes of engaging, unpredictable, instrumental exploration of an incredibly diverse sounding instrument delivered with impeccable precision. Recorded by JASON BLAKE, The Compromise Rationale was mixed by Amery Schmeisser, mastered by Bob Katz, and completed with cover artwork by Michal Karcz.

Stream JASON BLAKE’s first single from The Compromise Rationale, ‘Euphoria With Repercussions’ HERE

The Compromise Rationale will see release on CD and digital platforms through Wayfarer Records on September 23rd. Find preorders at THIS LOCATION and watch for additional audio and video premieres to post over the weeks ahead.

The Compromise Rationale Track Listing:

  1. A Certain Balance
  2. Euphoria With Repercussions
  3. Deforming Reality
  4. Practical Methods Of Gratification
  5. The Compromise Rationale
  6. Secondary Influences
  7. A Moral Impasse

JASON BLAKE Online:
Official Site
Bandcamp
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