In everyone's life comes the day when you start to wonder what you've done so far with your life. Usually that happens after getting confronted with others your age stepping in the limelight. And this was one of those moments. London-based dubstep producer James Blake is only 22 but he has already earned his spurs. Last year he released a solid three EP's, all of which garnered him critical acclaim. On his debut long player the Londoner opted to make a deeply personal record. Runner-up in the BBC Sound of 2011 list (to Jessie J) that album may be one of the most anticipated ones of the year. Rightly, as it turns out. Straightforwardly called 'James Blake', it contains ten tracks, each one more sober than the next and stripped of any unnecessary trimmings.
On this debut it's as much about the beats as it is about the spaces and silences in between. The help create the mood, never feel out of place and in a weird way add to the whole. There's not a beat too much, it's all in perfect balance. No vocal samples here either, Blake uses his own voice for all songs. Not self-evident for someone who has mostly earned his credit by sampling others but it works. Now it's just his voice, sometimes morphed ('To Care Like You', 'Limit To Your Love'), sometimes duplicated ('Wilhelms Scream') but always touching in its fragility. The combination with his slow, minimal yet nuanced dubstep beats makes for some emotionally loaded, but never over the top songs. Gospel-influenced 'I Never Learned to Share' is built around just two short lines, but the synths - sounding more and more like a church organ as the songs unreels - create an almost sacral mood - while Blake's voice (split in two here) tries to find its way. 'Measurements' has a similar soul-gospel feel due to its fragile polyphony and almost non-existing musical framework. A beautiful mix of technology and sincere emotions reminiscent of the old church hymns.
One of the best songs on the album is 'Wilhelms Scream', starting off somewhat subdued, with Blake's voice and the sounds working together not to break the silence until the song climaxes somwhere halfway, putting you in trance of peace, happiness and utter beauty. And another - more obvious - highlight of the album is of course Blake's Feist-cover 'Limit To Your Love', a song that surprisingly even managed to pierce through to the mainstream. His version is a little moodier than the original and will choke you up without sounding . Definately worth watching is the video for the song which is very Fever Ray-esque with its lightshow and strange, somewhat supernatural atmosphere. James Blake knows how to set a mood with limited tools. Don't be fooled by Blake minimalism though: he is a man of many faces. He extensively proved that on his previous EP's and on 'James Blake' he displays once more the many facets of his sound and his sky-high ambitions. The result is a pretty impressive debut long player. And if you will excuse me now, I need to start making something of my life.
Tracklist
1. Unluck
2. Wilhelms Scream
3. I Never Learnt To Share
4. Lindesfarne I
5. Lindesfarne II
6. Limit To Your Love
7. Give Me My Month
8. To Care (Like You)
9. Why Don't You Call Me
10. I Mind
On this debut it's as much about the beats as it is about the spaces and silences in between. The help create the mood, never feel out of place and in a weird way add to the whole. There's not a beat too much, it's all in perfect balance. No vocal samples here either, Blake uses his own voice for all songs. Not self-evident for someone who has mostly earned his credit by sampling others but it works. Now it's just his voice, sometimes morphed ('To Care Like You', 'Limit To Your Love'), sometimes duplicated ('Wilhelms Scream') but always touching in its fragility. The combination with his slow, minimal yet nuanced dubstep beats makes for some emotionally loaded, but never over the top songs. Gospel-influenced 'I Never Learned to Share' is built around just two short lines, but the synths - sounding more and more like a church organ as the songs unreels - create an almost sacral mood - while Blake's voice (split in two here) tries to find its way. 'Measurements' has a similar soul-gospel feel due to its fragile polyphony and almost non-existing musical framework. A beautiful mix of technology and sincere emotions reminiscent of the old church hymns.
One of the best songs on the album is 'Wilhelms Scream', starting off somewhat subdued, with Blake's voice and the sounds working together not to break the silence until the song climaxes somwhere halfway, putting you in trance of peace, happiness and utter beauty. And another - more obvious - highlight of the album is of course Blake's Feist-cover 'Limit To Your Love', a song that surprisingly even managed to pierce through to the mainstream. His version is a little moodier than the original and will choke you up without sounding . Definately worth watching is the video for the song which is very Fever Ray-esque with its lightshow and strange, somewhat supernatural atmosphere. James Blake knows how to set a mood with limited tools. Don't be fooled by Blake minimalism though: he is a man of many faces. He extensively proved that on his previous EP's and on 'James Blake' he displays once more the many facets of his sound and his sky-high ambitions. The result is a pretty impressive debut long player. And if you will excuse me now, I need to start making something of my life.
Tracklist
1. Unluck
2. Wilhelms Scream
3. I Never Learnt To Share
4. Lindesfarne I
5. Lindesfarne II
6. Limit To Your Love
7. Give Me My Month
8. To Care (Like You)
9. Why Don't You Call Me
10. I Mind
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