UNDER THE INFLUENCE
After 27 years of releasing only original music, singer-songwriter Blake Ian is unveiling his first collection of covers, and doing it unlike any covers record before. Under The Influence arrives not as one record but as a year-long series of artist and theme focused albums: one roughly every four weeks beginning October 2026, each devoted to the songbooks of the artists who shaped him: Bob Dylan, Nirvana, Radiohead, Bruce Springsteen, Elliott Smith, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, Tom Petty and more, culminating in the complete 77-song anthology.
The covers are deconstructions of the originals. Epic rock songs like Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android” and The Killers’ “All These Things That I Have Done” are stripped down to solo acoustic performances, while soft-spoken songs like Elliott Smith’s “2:45 AM” and Aimee Mann’s “Wise Up” are rebuilt as powerful full-band electric versions. The project spans a vast array of genres and features collaborators from around the globe: New York and Los Angeles, Costa Rica, Budapest, Brazil and South Korea. Seven decades of songs, all in a new light.
Don’t Think Twice: the Album + the Documentary
The series opens on October 30, 2026 with the Don’t Think Twice Album: Ten Bob Dylan reinterpretations, including a new studio recording of “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” and the original live recording from the famous Westbury Music Fair, Long Island’s theater in the round. It arrives the same day as Blake’s short documentary of the same name, Don’t Think Twice.
Filmed at Peter Tunney’s art gallery in an intimate, sit-down setting and interwoven with archival performance footage, the film gives the songs a face and a voice, with Blake reflecting on the artists who shaped him, on what it means to reinterpret the music you grew up on, and on his mental health and the anxiety he faced performing in the round at the famous Westbury venue.
The documentary also features acclaimed New York artist Peter Tunney, interviewed on camera, who painted the original Don’t Think Twice canvas: a dense, layered Dylan collage that anchors the film and gives the project its visual signature.
“Paranoid Android” · Animated Music Video
The fourth album, Paranoid Android (the Radiohead songbook), arrives in January 2027 with a full animated music video for the title track, a powerful solo acoustic version of Radiohead’s epic rock song: a surreal recreation of the artist’s studio built around Blake’s performance, filmed in the same room that houses Peter Tunney’s Don’t Think Twice painting. The video premieres on Vevo, YouTube, Apple Music, and Tidal.
Release Schedule
| Date | Album | Tracks | Songs by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10.30.26 | Don’t Think Twice View All Tracks |
10 | Bob Dylan |
| 11.27.26 | Lithium View All Tracks |
7 | Nirvana, Elliott Smith |
| 12.25.26 | Hallelujah View All Tracks |
7 | Leonard Cohen, Aimee Mann, Tom Waits, Pearl Jam, The Magnetic Fields, Bo Burnham, The Velvet Underground |
| 01.22.27 | Paranoid Android View All Tracks |
8 | Radiohead, The Cure, Mazzy Star, The Doors, Jane’s Addiction |
| 02.19.27 | Walls View All Tracks |
7 | Tom Petty, R.E.M., Beck, Marcy Playground |
| 03.19.27 | Flume View All Tracks |
7 | Bon Iver, The Killers, Tears for Fears, Counting Crows, Daniel Johnston |
| 04.16.27 | Brand New Love View All Tracks |
7 | Sebadoh, Built To Spill, Ben Harper, The Flaming Lips, Sublime, Bright Eyes |
| 05.14.27 | American Music View All Tracks |
8 | The Violent Femmes, Ramones, The Mountain Goats, Dire Straits, Jim Henson, Madonna, The Rolling Stones, Cheap Trick |
| 06.11.27 | Devils & Dust View All Tracks |
8 | Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Buffalo Springfield |
| 07.09.27 | Somehow the Wonder of Life Prevails View All Tracks |
8 | Mark Kozelek, Jimmy Lavalle, Bonnie Prince Billy, The Pixies, The Office, The Verve, Sun Kil Moon |
| 09.03.27 | Under The Influence · Full Album View All Tracks |
77 songs |
The complete anthology, all 77 songs |
