James Blake – James Blake (ATLAS/A&M)
James Blake is a common name. A quick online search reveals several influential James Blakes, the most popular being a professional tennis player. Soon, this tennis player is going to be facing some tough competition.
James Blake – James Blake (ATLAS/A&M)
James Blake is a common name. A quick online search reveals several influential James Blakes, the most popular being a professional tennis player. Soon, this tennis player is going to be facing some tough competition. I first heard this particular combination of names several months ago. In the course of making my daily music rounds on the internet, I noticed that a track entitled “CMYK” seemed to have an unusually high number of downloads, considering that it was from a seemingly-unknown artist. I downloaded this track out of curiosity, and was immediately greeted by an unusual combination of electronic notes and a vocal track that seemed to be glitching. The percussion hit and I was hooked. It was a catchy tune, and I was surprised to hear a sample of Aaliyah’s “Are You That Somebody,” albeit a very distorted one. I dove deeper into his catalogue, only to realize that he did not really have one yet. This young artist, only 22, had exploded onto the scene, and his first single was heavily praised by the BBC Radio crowd. James Blake quickly became a name people could not keep out of their mouths. Heavy airplay ensued and James Blake had all eyes on him. James released three EPs in 2010, to unanimous approval.
On November 28th of last year, he released a cover of the Feist song “Limit To Your Love,” which made a believer out of anyone who was not already. James used his own vocals to create a rendition of this slow ballad that was truly beautiful. I was a fan of the original song, but his version takes the cake; kind of like how Ryan Adams covers “Wonderwall” better than Oasis (this is not my opinion, this is an accepted fact [Oh, I think you might find otherwise if you broaden the scope of your research on this question–ed.]). “Limit To Your Love,” we learned, would be a part of James’ upcoming full-length, appropriately entitled James Blake. I got my hands on a promotional copy of this album a few weeks ago and found myself at a loss for words. It’s hard to explain James’ style. He seemed to be on the outside of the UK-dubstep genre looking in. His tunes contain minimalistic bass lines with elements of heavy rhythm and strong soul/R&B undertones which created instrumentals that could be played by ‘dubstep’ DJ’s and others alike. James cites Bon Iver and Jamie XX as huge influences, which is very noticeable in his work. As a huge fan of the young electronic guys out of the UK who are pioneering the game right now (Joy Orbison, Jamie XX (of the band, The XX) and James Blake, to name a few), I was excited to hear and see James Blake tweak his sound a little for his full length.
While he still uses the percussive layers and rhythmic electronic stabs that we appreciated in his past EPs, the difference is the addition of his own vocals, which he commonly will chop up and layer, creating a vocal landscape that is sure to smooth out any problem you might find in his songs. All of the songs were recorded in his bedroom, which makes me wonder what this man is capable in a full professional studio. While I recommend that you listen to this album as a complete piece, front to back, there are a few tracks that stand out. “Limit To Your Love,” the first single from the album, when combined with “To Care (Like You),” really transforms this album into something almost surreal. Very rarely do I come across an album that causes me to drop my jaw, and to start it over as soon as I finish listening to it for the first time. I encourage everyone to listen to “Limit To Your Love.” If you like what you hear, the album comes out on Monday.
