Mike Block Releases New Single 'Tenfold'

Fresh off his acclaimed World Music album Guzo, released last month, pioneering cello player, composer, singer and educator, Mike Block has released "Tenfold," a second single from his upcoming adult-pop record, The Edge of the Atmosphere, due out October 23 release via Bright Shiny Things. Block will perform a livestreamed concert from Saratoga Springs, New York this Sunday, October 4, before hosting the Virtual Cello Bello GALA 2020 on October 11. And will celebrate the release of The Edge of the Atmosphere with a special livestream performance, October 24 via YouTube + Facebook Live, 8:30pm ET (details below). Pre-order The Edge of the Atmosphere here.

Block recorded The Edge of the Atmosphere with Zachariah Hickman (Bass), Lyle Brewer (Guitars), Sean Trischka (Drums) and Dave Brophy (Drums), producing the album himself, with engineer Dan Cardinal. Discussing "Tenfold" Block stated, "The opening lyrics of 'Tenfold' came out spontaneously as I attempted to squeeze in a little bit of time playing music during a moment of calm as my newborn baby rested in her cushion. My guilt of trying to be productive while she lay there waiting for my attention led me to think of all the other times in my life when I've put my goals before the needs of others. The verses are an attempt to justify selfish habits, while the choruses inspire me to serve others more. When performing, I find myself singing to various people in my imagination over the course of the song, such as those suffering from poverty and oppression, or my wife and parents, or even a fictional conversation with God. This song repeatedly asks a question that I avoid answering: "What if all that I withheld, were returned to you, tenfold?"

A GRAMMY Award winner with Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble, Block studied and trained in the classical world at The Julliard School and Cleveland Institute of Music, but his curiosity and imagination as a musician knows no bounds or borders. Ma has hailed Block, as the "ideal musician of the 21st-Century." The New York Times praised Block for his "vital rich-hued solo playing."

Mike has also collaborated in performance and recordings with Stevie Wonder, Bon Iver, St. Vincent, The National, Will.i.am, The New York Philharmonic, Bobby McFerrin, Allison Krauss, Mark O'Connor, Edgar Meyer, Mike Marshall, Julian Lage, Rhiannon Giddens, Sierra Hull, Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O'Donovan, Natalia McMaster, Bruce Molsky, Darol Anger, Zakir Hussain, and Rachel Pine, amongst others.

Listen to "Tenfold" here: