On the Rise
John Blaylock

While he was born and raised in the North of England, Blaycock's real start in life came as a 12 year old in the 90s. As the heights of Oasis-mania swept through the city, Blaylock and his friends were anchored to guitars after seeing the power that music held. That’s not to mention it being a  method of escape from the drudgery of life. But little did Blaylock realise just how far flung he’d go.

His first instance of discovering the bottomless depths of music came from a Stone Roses cut, “(Song For My) Sugar Spun Sister”. Blaylock explains that the lyrics, “Until the sky turns green and the grass is several shades of blue / Every member of parliament trips on glue,” are what grabbed him first off. “I wasn't particularly anti-establishment at the time,” he says. “but I always thought that was such cool lyric, and it sang so beautifully. It really moved me as a kid.”

Blaylock attests to writing songs before he even owned a guitar: “I’ve always felt like I want to write words on paper and try and put melodies to them,” he ponders. Spending the best part of his teen years dabbling around and cutting his teeth writing songs for the love of game, it didn’t become a realistic career prospect until he ventured abroad in the mid-00s, as all school-leavers are wont to do. 

After becoming enchanted with the filmic nature of New York as a child this was his first stop. He took the long way, through Europe and Morocco, before heading out West. Going coast to coast, his first exposure to the wides of the world, when he returned he went to music college. It’s here he started his music journey proper. 

Forming a group, International One, they achieved some success around 2008. including a label deal. This wound up being a doomed endeavour: “Basically, a year later, we ended up about a quarter of a million pound in debt to that record label having released no music,” he says with a survivor's laugh. 

It was in the ashes of this, however, that Blaylock found the real reward he was searching for – an epiphany of what success can really look like. 

“There was never an option of, ‘Oh now the band's finished, do we stop? Do we get a normal job, etc?’ I've never thought to do anything else than music,” he admits. In the years after the bands collapsed he kept himself busy: “So I kept going as a singer and as a songwriter. I love writing with other people, I've done loads of writing collaborations.”

He’d wind up heading back to LA, after trying his hand at songwriting with other artists and producers he met during his label journey. Spending a few weeks there initially, “That was always the plan, live there for a year and see what it would actually be like to live there. I was literally in recording studios, writing and singing every day of the week,” he explains. Getting various tracks picked up for ads and TV – and a chance to pitch in for the 2016 Suicide Squad film soundtrack – he was living the dream for a while. But as with all restless legs, the road was calling.

Next up he spent some time teaching music at an international school in Japan. Here he developed a keen awareness of the talent that can exist when opportunity is offered – something he’d tap into later in his story. Then during COVID he came back to England before hot-footing it straight back out again, as he headed to Pakistan by himself for a few months. Then, came South America in 2022. 

Spending eight months in Ecuador, he found himself with a nice studio setup where he could hone his craft and write songs – while living his life to the fullest. But all great journeys come to an end.

It was 2023 when Blaylock decided to upsticks back home. After amassing a collection of songs from his travels, he knew it was time to finally put together his debut album but it was simply to showcase his skills: “I never saw it as a full circle fulfilment thing,” he says. 

“I’d feel like I was doing myself a disservice if I did not come back to England and put the best 10 or 11 songs that I thought I had into an album,” Blaylock explains. “And to really have a go at getting the world to hear it, because I think the songs are fantastic and deserve to be heard.” 

Sound of the Dreadnought represents the accumulation of Blaylock’s 15 year career working in music. Named for the guitar Blaylock used - its tracklist is one half travels and one half home. Produced by Guy Massey, its deft, hand-picked strings ring with purity while cinematic embellishments are woven throughout as Blaylock sings with an every-man heart-on-sleeve yearning. 

Similarly, each cut is wrought with the same cast iron over-sharing that comes with the territory. This was something that came naturally to Blaylock. “I think a good, honest songwriter should wear their heart on their sleeve, especially if you've lived through interesting situations,” he explains. “Some of the best songs are where you're explaining a crazy situation you've been through and drawing someone in not just to your melodies, but to the story that you've got going on.”

In particular Blaylock cites “I Feel Your Soul” as a striking cut from his time overseas. Written about the “unspoken connection with someone” the verses pertain to being lost in an Ecuadorian jungle, in the pitch black, as all senses are heightened – including the spiritual. “I definitely think I got a lot wiser for meeting different people along the way and learning things about spirituality and about energy that have had a real impact in a positive way in my life,” he smiles.

Establishing himself with a debut is one thing ticked off of Blaylock’s list. But success these days looks a lot more different than it did when he was younger. 

When he first came back to Manchester in 2023, Blaylock bounced around teaching jobs. But it was when he met a songwriter friend of his who was organising community singing groups down on the South Coast of England that a new idea presented itself. “He said he was really enjoying it and it was a fun thing that was keeping him on his toes as a musician,” he recalls. “As well as helping a lot of people, so I thought, Oh, that sounds like a fun thing to set up in Manchester.”

Growing from a supremely intimate debut outing (“it was literally just me and one old lady in a room together,” he laughs) into now being nine separate groups with 250 people coming each week, it’s grown far beyond what he envisioned: “I keep hearing stories of how it's changed people's lives, which is really amazing.”

These days, this is where success for Blaylock lies. It’s fulfilment from helping other people use music as their way out of town – be it literally or figuratively for a brief period a couple of days a week. It’s a skill that takes a life to be lived, to set aside ego to allow others to flourish. 

Reflecting upon this change in gold standard now, after having been on the scrappy, ambitious side, he recognises he’s wandered into the horizon to see what else is out there, and for the time being at least, he’s settled. He knows that chasing first place isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be. 

“A lot of musicians – or even a lot of people – strive to get somewhere in life, but they've often found that when they've actually reached that thing they've been striving for, it's not all that,” says Blaylock. “And so the one thing the last few years have taught me is that I’ve found complete happiness in myself and happiness in my daily life and the journey that I'm on.”

He knows his time on British shores is most likely limited. He readily admits that he “definitely gets bored” if he stays too long. But the few years in the UK have been as good to him as his time scouring the globe for answers to questions he’s yet to ask. And, as has been the case for the songwriter as an archetype since the dawn of music, travel begets the creative mind. 

“Everything's great, everything's a blessing, and I’m thankful for my life as it is,” he muses. “I'm still striving to have a hit record, which is what I totally believe I've got, but I'm no longer pinning all my happiness on that occasion.” For all of his globe-trotting, and horizon chasing, it’s brought Blaylock the realisation of a lifetime: “Because I'm living in the happiness of the world right now.”