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I dont know enough about tennis or James Blake's personal life...

I've already had Brackles' school mate take the mick out of him on one of my threads about bass music this very week!

There's an American tennis player called James Blake, he's in the top 10. I have no idea who this guy you're talking about is :)

I thought it actually was the tennis player. I thought "Brett Lee has a band, anything's possible!" But no.

you never can tell people make up rummors for a laugh all the time in the dubstep comunity. Only the other day I was reading about how Slugabed wet the bed, Shortstuff Pissed on grannies and Zomby cried pixles and watched women undress as a floating ghost. This was the most plausable yet!

He is on our wish list at the sonic router for an interview and mix so if it happens I will make sure that question is in there.

Anyone know if his Bills Bills Bills remix is on there?

he was the first person i thought of when harmonix started turning up in mixes as some mystery producer- the harmonisation is really really really characteristic of him. i think its a fun 12, and the harmonies are brilliant, but the production on both is real cheap sounding. sound like synth presets

Sounding good.

Reckon it's actually worth paying for? I'd love to get hold of that Bills Bills Bills remix - admittedly more for fun value than anything else. It was pretty obvious that it was him, both the harmonies and those really warped synth sounds. Even if they are presets.

Waiting on Ramadanman to put out some of his new originals as well - would love 'I Beg You' to appear at some point.

I think I've heard two tracks from this, Unluck and the track they played at the end of the final Ruffage Sessions.
Both are pretty great. Looking forward to it.

but it'll probably be gone by next week... this is another heavy week for me since rooted should have the mosca in now, plus the 2nd martyn remix 12, dva, the loops haunt 12 rooted didn't get last week.. might not have the money to be honest. already blitzing my "£30 a week" limit..

I was trying to find this thread a week or so ago and failed haha

you can hear the newest Blake on the last Ruffage session: James Blake - Give A Man A Rod [Forthcoming Hessle Audio]

http://drownedinsound.com/community/boards/music/4212936

http://thequietus.com/articles/02845-sonic-router-006-a-dubstep-column-for-october

^that should be the right link, I can't seem to get The Quietus working right now...

http://www.myspace.com/airheadproduction

10" soon coming on BRAiNMATH too

MATH06 AIRHEAD & JAMES BLAKE - PEMBROKE / LOCK IN THE LION 10" & DIGITAL

Plus they did a mix together on MAH

15 min guest mix for Mary Anne Hobbs. Tracklist:

1. Airhead & James Blake - Pembroke
2. Airhead - Paper Street
3. Airhead - Walden
4. James Blake - Polite Promise
5. Airhead - Broadhaven

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=20779014&blogId=512541390

Blake's remix on vinyl eludes me :( It should be a good year for him - Kimbie album due in May or so as well, according to Scuba.

The new Sbtrkt on Brainmath arrived yesterday. Loving that label.

sweet

I think Blake is working on an album as well, I read it somewhere but I dunno where now... maybe even the SR interview hahah

I'm really digging that Sbtrkt too, its awsome to see his original material coming out finaly, I was gettin sick of remixes.

it actually sounds really great on the 12", good purchase. unfortunately was stood behind a guy in the queue who left with the last mosca and the last martyn- ben klock remix, doh.

They're kind of addictive. A Milli is pretty mad at the end when he's fucking with the harmonies and pitching Wayne's raps all over the place like a mutant auto-tune robotic rapping beach boys....

I was literally about to head down to Rooted after work.

I've got the Mosca, but might have to hit Boomkat for the Harmonimix, DVA and Klock ones. Eurgh, I hate how quickly these things disappear, too skint to be spending this much money...

are cheaper than boooooomkat

they often have stuff for longer too as they aint as HUGE shops. Infact chemical have the martyn remix 12" on offer and I have no idea why...

http://www.redeyerecords.co.uk/

http://www.chemical-records.co.uk/

they assured me klock would be back in next week. have you ever been to the chemical records store in bristol? might take a trip there some time and check it out, need a new phono lead for one of my technics and if they have some stuff which is sold out at boomkat/rooted that'd be swag

glut sounded wicked.

how good is the Stop What Your Doing remix?

it goes off at every dance too, all his stuff does.

the original is quality too but James Blake makes loads of mad harmonies out of it and twists it even more.

New unreleased joint from him...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5LjJSSIK5w

and a more minimal effort with Airhead...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZqAg_L6D4Y

cheekey ones, no idea who by...

Bills Bills Bills
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM8-mouRFP0

A Milli
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFGpR0N3Yd8

original by Untold:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QhjlbVamxM

dunno if you've heard it...

this confused the hell out of dance floors, half go insane the other look scared haha. no beats, just psychedlic bleeps and bass pulses.

Zomby does some insane, melodic beatless freaky stuff too, but he's not released any yet. Its on youtube sometimes but he often takes it down again. You only really get to hear it on a few radio shows or in the clubs at the moment if your lucky. Lil showcase here: http://www.dubstepforum.com/zomby-eski-showcase-from-dusk-and-blackdown-in-june-t114896.html

Whether you're into dubstep or not, it's just a ridiculously good track.

Dusk & Blackdown bring the goods as usual on there Rinse FM show... They near the end of the show, you can't miss them as no one else sounds like James Blake haha.

Tracklist:

Roxy "Breakbeat Science" (Bison) *Roxy tribute, RIP Roxy, fallen Ghost soldier**

D1 "Lazerquest" (unreleased)
Aswad ft Sweetie Irie "City Lock" [Roska remix] (unreleased)
Grievous Angel "Bee and Cee remix" (unreleased)
Slackk "Marching" (unreleased)
Mosca "Square One" [Roska remix]" (forthcoming Night Slugs)
DJ Zinc and Ms Dynamite "Wile Out" (unreleased)
Emvee "Windrush" (unreleased)
Maxwell D "Snow Man" (unreleased)
DVA "Natty" (Hyperdub)
DJ Dom "London" (unreleased)
Baobinga "Ride It" (unreleased Build)

Grievous Angel "Still On It remix" (unreleased)
VVV + Phaeleh "Reconcile" (unreleased)
Sbtrkt "Dazed" (unreleased)
Kuoyah "Angels Dub [ Sully remix]" (unreleased)

LV "Lost" (unreleased Keysound)
LV "Early Mob" (unreleased Keysound)
Ramadanman "Tempest" (forthcoming Hemlock)
Untold "Come Follow We" (unreleased)
Seven and Elvee "Breakdown" (unreleased)

Vibzin "Mad Sick" (unreleased)
LHF "Chamber of Light" (unreleased Keysound)
LHF "Ashakic Visons" (unreleased Keysound)
Sbtrkt "Minusthree" (unreleased)
Filtercutter "1UP [Ramadanman remix]" (unreleased)

James Blake "Saying" (unreleased)
James Blake "the Bells Sketch" (unreleased)
D1 "Dr" (unreleased)
Starkey ft P Money "Numb" (forthcoming Planet Mu)
Zomby "Maxamillion" (unreleased)
Zomby "Rooftops" (unreleased)

Podcast: http://relay.exequo.org/rinsefm/podcast/DuskBlackdown28110.mp3 (right click save as)

oh yeah new Zomby too... new everyone, its how they roll...

http://www.factmag.com/2009/11/25/new-talent-james-blake/

there site redesign has brought it to my attention again.

“Anyway, I was listening to ‘Stop What You’re Doing’ quite a lot. I loved the persistent melody, and I got a really strong urge to re-harmonise it. I didn’t even ask for the parts or tell Jack I was doing it. To be honest a lot of it went by in a blur, as do a lot of things I write. It’s nice when you’re so inspired to do something that you blurt it all out onto the page, and it just can’t come out fast enough, like an uncalculated, uninhibited stream of consciousness.”

Can't wait for the new Ramadanman on Hemlock, hopefully it'll include 'Glut' as well. With that and the new Pearson Sound, 'Down With You', it seems that he's heading in a really spaced out, soulful direction - which is great.

the most exciting ramadanman thing for me atm though is definitely "pitter" which they played at the end of the last ruffage show. sounded seriously next-level, mega excited to see that come out.

on a more jb related tip, are there still copies of the harmonimix 12 about? passed when i first saw them about because i wasn't really feeling them but the a milli one has grown on me so much :(

Haven't gotten round to grabbing one myself yet.

Redeye are getting the Stop What You're Doing Remix back in stock for friday: Untold : Stop What Your Doing (James Blake Remix) / I Can’t stop This Feeling (Pangaea remix) : Hemlock Recordings, HEK006 (***Friday shipping for Monday delivery***) and they still have: UNKNOWN : UNKNOWN (BILLS REMIX) / UNKNOWN (A MILLIE REMIX) : HARMONIMIX001, Promo

http://www.redeyerecords.co.uk/

Nice one :D

Hemlock are thretening not to do represses... EVER! I know you know this but the other DiSquares maybe don't ;)

'Bills Bills Bills' is amazing, end of.

http://www.factmag.com/2010/02/04/james-blake-plans-hessle-audio-ep-and-more/

'Very different from the super-heavy dubstep single ‘Air and Lack thereof’ that he originally made his name with, it finds Blake experimenting further with space and voice, resulting in tracks that should appeal to fans of the xx and Arthur Russell as well as say, Untold'

obviously i am familiar with the likes of burial, kode9 etc, but my knowledge dries up a very short distance after.

hugely enjoying this electronic explorations podcast.

New Actress album coming soon as well which sounds aamazing.

Millionaire posted about it the other week.

I heard a James Blake remix of Peverelist's 'Rolling with the punches' last night.

Plus I totaly forgot, as I've not bought it yet... but on Scuba's Sub:Stance mix cd there is a James Blake remix of: Mount Kimbie - Maybes (James Blake remix)

But THIS, this is masterful...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s12FnMuZE28
(Kimbie remix of Untold & LV, coming soon on Hemlock

Would love to hear a Roll With The Punches remix actually, will have to investigate.

Oh, and wrong place but I dunno if a separate thread is necessary - really excellent Blackdown interview with Oneman.
http://blackdownsoundboy.blogspot.com/2010/02/there-can-only-be-oneman.html

I've already got that Oneman interview opened on a tab on my browser haha ;)

I totaly forgot James Blake had done a Pev remix... I saw somwone talk about it a while back on dsf but hadn't heard it until it was played last night.

Deserves its own thread really.

http://sonicrouter.blogspot.com/2010/02/interview-pariah-r.html

Tracklist:

1. Bad Autopsy – Psionic Terror [unreleased]
2. Hanuman – Bola (Atki2 Remix) [Idle Hands]
3. L-Vis 1990 – Zahonda (Greena Remix) [Sound Pellegrino]
3. Martyn – Hear Me (Zomby Remix) 3024
4. Shed – 10001b [WAX]
5. Cristian Vogel – In [Tresor]
6. Pariah – Crossed Out [forthcoming R&S]
7. J-Treole – The Loot (Sully Remix) [Keysound]
8. K.M.A – Cape Fear [Groove Chronicles]
9. Nu Birth – Anytime [Locked On]
10. Red or Dred – How I Feel (Bad Ass Disco Mix) [Locked On]
11. Agent X – Turbulence [Heatseeker Records]
12. Sentinels – Love Rhythm [unreleased]
13. James Blake – The Bells Sketch [forthcoming Hessle Audio]
14. Pariah – Safehouses [forthcoming R&S]

The Bells Sketch is a beast, a really soulful synth workout that even samples him and the tea boy...

http://drownedinsound.com/community/boards/music/4154123

For the DiS geek metathreadagedon link up sessions

...

http://www.junodownload.com/products/1536386-02.htm

Comes out on 8th March download (so a bit before that on vinyl I guess)

yeah, buzzard and kestrel is great, I've been playin it on the radio. And with all the love for Ramadanman can i just whore his remix of Filtercutter - 1up since we put it out. It's ultra minimal halfstep suspense builder, check it out. Boomkat have sold out.

And on the same lines, the brand new Blake tune at the end of last night's first Hessle Audio session on Rinse was absolutely fucking immense. He's going to OWN this year.

JAG: some writing about the Harmonimix 12"
http://closebracket-openbracket.blogspot.com/2010/02/harmonimix-millibills-bills-bills-white.html

http://vimeo.com/8691672

From Clouds ace blog: http://kidsofthedeadworld.blogspot.com/

he was brilliant, he played an epic amount of new matterial most of which I don't think I'd heard before. Then lots of party starting numbers like Outkast Spread and Ghetto Music, Untold Stop What You're Doing, Harmonimix, Another cheeky Destiny's Child number maybe? Zomby... it was like one big super smooth futuristic R&B rave.

;)

I want to get this NOW

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/11811-the-bells-sketch/

just seen this!

pfffft 'isn't really making dance'...

come and see him DJ and make that statement.

Airhead & James Blake - Pembroke / Lock In The Lion [BRAiNMATH]
http://www.chemical-records.co.uk/sc/servlet/Info?Track=MATH06

James Blake - The Bells Sketch / Buzzard And Kestrel / Give A Man A Rod [Hessle Audio]
http://www.chemical-records.co.uk/sc/servlet/Info?Track=HES011

Good few weeks for James Blake, he's like doubled his output haha.

http://www.factmag.com/2010/03/03/the-month-in-bass-6/

previews of the Hessle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFRsJOWRSYE

Since he played loads of Outkast in his DJ set the other week, I've been digging out Speaker Boxxx/Love Bellow again as well. Badass album.

'These EPs capture James Blake at the point where he’s refining his style into a unique form, and you can bet the best is yet to come – most likely on his forthcoming album for R&S. What’s perhaps most special about Blake though, is the fact that music this eccentric has been accepted, without question, by the dubstep community. Dubstep gets a bad rep, mostly due to its popularity and those who’ve latched onto it, but one thing that’s always struck me about the genre is how open minded it can be.

Sometime FACT writer Joe Muggs once pointed that out, regarding people as musically unique as Burial or Shackleton enjoying hero status amongst dubstep fans, being accepted to a level that Aphex or uZiq never had a chance of reaching in the drum’n’bass scene, and it’s something that’s always stuck with me. For all the stigma that comes with the D word in 2010, at dubstep’s core it’s still one of the most community-driven, open-minded music scenes to exist in recent memory.'

I got the Airhead & JB 10" the other day, it's really nice. They're both sort of slo-mo soul sketches, and have a lovely melancholy edge to them. My Hessle one's being dispatched on Friday :)

Speakerboxxxx for me and I got the 10" ordered the 12".

Hessle are having a badass year already with that Pangaea EP and now this jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez

Ben UFO mix http://sonicrouter.blogspot.com/2010/03/download-ben-ufo-lucky-me-mix.html

new James Blake on it: 26. James Blake - CMYK (Forthcoming R&S)

it was really well highlighted when I went to see Jamed Blake DJ he was wedged between some local guys playing stright up dark as hell dubstep, no wobble just darkness. The he came on and played a mad soul/funk/bass/R&B hybrid and no one batted an eyelid.

Ben UFO has the most ridiculous set of dubs. Seriously, the guy must drown in good new music *jealous*

But I'm probably gonna catch him at the Hyp!Hyp!Hyp! thing at Plan B next Friday. Majorly hyped, he's really got the specialness that the fact article talks about of someone like Shack, or Burial. Really love the guy's stuff. Still think he's got better to come though.

Words on the new'un
http://closebracket-openbracket.blogspot.com/2010/03/airhead-james-blake-pembrokelock-in.html

what's Aphex got to do with the drum'n'bass scene? He was releasing long before d'n'b was an itch in its daddy's pants, and he certainly got accepted pretty quickly. R & S was an established label when they were putting him out, and i remember reading a review of Selected Ambient Works 1 (1992) in Q Magazine, which was pretty mainstream. He certainly outsold Shackleton and was on bigger labels, since Shackleton was initially self-released and is now on a fairly obscure German minimal label.

I'm not really sure what Joe Muggs' point is here, in that case.

got accepted fairly quickly into d'n'b cos of his breaky fast stuff but always stayed on the fringes of the scene he was never really owned by the scene. But Shackleton and James Blake seem to be owned by the dubstep scene even though they just like Aphex sound pretty mad in the genres context. Its nothing to do with sales... or R&S

can't seem to find them anywhere

they where just cheeky white label 12"s but they might appear at some point, the same label put out Pangaea's Memories I think, that was a cheeky white label but they did it digitaly eventualy. I'll keep an eye out for ya.

that's cause Aphex didn't have anything to with the d'n'b scene. he existed before it. he just borrowed a few stylistic bits (chopped up breaks)

didn't have anything to do with it no and he was around way before it yes. But his music could have easily been embraced more and he could have been part of the bigger picture of dnb as he often takes that tempo and a lot of that sound into new places, which is just what James Blake and Burial do with dubstep take what they like and twist it hard into new areas. But instead for whatever reason he was always on the fringes.

But people like James Blake who doesn't sound anything like dubstep apart from the tempo sometimes as well as a bit of bass (just like aphx doesn't sound anything like dnb apart from a few signifyers) gets embraced by the dubstep scene.

Do you see? Its about the open minded nature of the dubstep scene... Showing a parralel between dnb and dubstep and their outlook. Dubstep isn't that fussed about keeping ONE sound going it's fine with it developing and going in all directions right now.

danceable in a very very strange way as well.

i really hope his ballady ones get released some time as well - i never learnt to share is heartbreaking. there's definite crossover appeal just for the quality of songwriting.

I'm kinda addicted to the Bells Sketch EP too.

I'll try and search it out for you if you don't mind the guilt of illegal downloading.

but i'll sleep easy tonight if you hook me up.. winky wink

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g04e5OFf-c4

New vocal cut

where Mario gets pissed in a blues/soul bar because he's pissed off him and Luigi can't find princes daisy.

It's really the only thing that drags Gonjasufi off my speakers.

It's niiiiiice.

just got back from a gig, podcast is me!

Good show, actually.

I think he played a couple of Blake dubs, but not the Mala one peeps on dsf are salvitating over.

I only realised looking at Dissensus, and because Blackdown was saying about it that his stuff is kind of contentious, outside of DiS/Dsf. But then The Bells Sketch has got to be almost a bit too weird to ever be easily accepted by everyone in the same way Kimbie or Orbison might be.

it's just a cheeky edit thing really not a big hyped remix, same with the Peverelist thing.

Bells Sketch is definatly stranger than the Hemlock stuff, I dunno how but its still works on dance floors somehow and its still strange and interesting enough to corss over to peeps that arn't to into dance music like DiS or something. I don't think even Joy Orbison has the same amount of hype now The Shrew EP didn't make much of a buzz somehow, even though its kinda better but in a diffrent way.

People outside of dance music/vinyl culture don't really have the patience to follow it up. As far as I know, BRKLN CLLN / J. Doe got hardly any of that kind of coverage, whereas the likelihood of a new Ellie Goulding single not getting playlisted, whether it's good or not, is zilch.
That said, I've been pretty impressed with Pitchfork's coverage recently.

In a way, I think The Bells Sketch works a lot better played out, the couple of times I have heard it. Like Untold's Stop What You're Doing, the undanciness of it, makes it even more compelling in terms of being in a situation where you're encouraged to dance to strange beast. It's a strange sort of challenge. And Buzzard and Kestrel is probably the best thing I've heard all year. There's the strange half-drop at the beginning that reminds me of free-jazz- the Part Wild Horses Mane... thing thats hugely popular with the Wire and VT at the moment.

I feel sorry for people that dont DJ or go to clubs and buy this stuff they're only having half the fun they could be with it all haha. Thats still pretty fun mind...

I should read Wire sometime, I've never got round to it no where within about 50 miles sells it or any other music mag worth looking at to be honest, haven't done for many years.

Well worth the money, and it's nice to get a new shiny magazine through the door every month. There's always excellent coverage of electronic music, and usually lots on jazz, drone, ambient and sound installation stuff, which tend to be my main points of interest. Plus the Critical Beats section is great, and Joe Muggs always does really interesting interviews.

the legedery techno imprint from way back...

There are dubs around in mixes and you'll hear them in the clubs if you go out to see the right DJs.

There are a few here: http://blackdownsoundboy.blogspot.com/2010/03/rinse-march.html

James Blake "Footnotes" (unreleased)
James Blake "CMYK" (unreleased)

I dunno if we'll see it that soon to be honest...

I'll just keep looking forward to it then

that was ace.

he plays loads of new stuff, like half his set almost sometimes.

I think Mount Kimbie have an album coming in the not to distant future that might come sooner, who knows... The scene is a mystery at times, I've been waiting on a Joker album for well over a year and others just pop up and suprise you.

http://pitchfork.com/news/38367-rising-james-blake/

so good.

he somehow sounds really familuar too, it's like he's channeling: R&B, Soul, Funk, Blues, Hip-hop, Dubstep, Electronica, god knows what else all at once but in a way no one else really has.

And now i find out from that pitchfork interview he goes to my uni. Small world.

somehow...

his music is 5 dimensional.

good to read that's going to happen. Meanwhile he can keep entertaining us with deep electronics. Wonder what he'd do with a band....

The Mount Kimbie, solo and his stuff with Airhead might expand a bit and bring in more instruments I guess but I dunno about a full band. They seem to live in a post-band sort of world where everyone just does it themselves, but who knows. I'd be scared he'd turn into a kind of Jamie Liddle if he did though.

made me lol a bit, didn't expect to see a Moby referance.

The vocals in Air Lack Of are reminiscnet of the sampled blues shit that Moby was peddling yonks ago, but obvs much better. That same slightly meloncholy tone to it.

just wasn't expecting to see Moby, I've not seen/heard his name or music in years.

I was just musing a bit, thinking towards the Seb Rochford & Leafcutter John combo more than Jamie Lidell in Blake's case though. Lidell is more the frontman and I don't think that fits Blake's music or singing.

hahah

yeah you're right, bands and electronic soul boys make me think of Lidell a bit and I'm not that keen on him.

but have you (or anyone else) heard the new Airhead single, Crushed Peel? Really excellent stuff - lots more full-on and danceable than his James Blake collab.

where did you hear it?

Hessle Audio show or something? I only caught an hour of that yesterday and they did a special extended three hour one.

I've got it on download now, but it's slow....slow...sloooow
http://hotfile.com/dl/29060330/d285402/

I've been slacking on my MAH listening recently for some reason, I think I've acctualy been asleep when she's on, which is strange...

Peverelist - Roll With The Punches (Harmonimix)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ-xl2C8VvE

The original is so damn good: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyd5MVcE_BI&feature=related

Peverelist - Roll With The Punches (Harmonimix)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ-xl2C8VvE

The original is so damn good: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyd5MVcE_BI&feature=related

This is a rather great version as well, cheers :D

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/apr/20/new-band-james-blake

you don't really need to read it though, the only thing I learnt is that he's 6'5". fascinating.

yeah

Pretty cool though.

Peeps on twitter are getting upset about the "intelligent urban music" line but tbh, it doesn't really seem worth it, it's part of a daily blog, Paul Lester isn't that big a journalist, and the only people who are really going to scrutinise are people who already know his stuff.
Massively looking forward to the R&S Ep though.

this made me laugh though, Paul Lester: "He's a dubstep artist who's just signed to the excellent R&S label, and although we're not as knee-deep as Mary Ann Hobbs in the stuff"
he can say that again. goodness knows where the rest of that sentece goes though. Too many hyphens man, sort it out!

whatever he writes about.

I kinda see the annoyance over the intelegent thing, I mean its a shit term that suggests its for beard stroking and home listening only. But James Blake isn't like that at all he's just really strange party music. Well the stuff so far is. Even the strange stuff sounds like late night R&B party jams. It all goes down really well in clubs. Plus it suggests that lots of other stuff in the scene isn't intelegent is should be looked down on and thats just a shit way of looking at things.

cos he's getting across music to new readers that prob dont know much about it too. So he's kind of on an equal footing with them so it mightwork better.

but I just read it as a throw-line by someone who didn't know what he was talking about, and that comes as part the territory.
But I guess p4k, who I'd take a little more seriously imply the same thing with Blake and, yeh, it is bollocks really, even compared with something like Mount Kimbie's Maybes Ep with it's post-rock elements, or even most of the deeper end of dubstep, Blake's stuff is as fun and funky as anything, as his MK remix showed.

it's that old people outside of 'dance' music can't take really take it seriously, unless they turn it into something else chestnutt again, I guess.

and to be fair James Blake does sound more than just just music he's got it all going on. And if you don't acctualy go to the clubs this stuff is played in and see it with your own eyes it might be hard to believe that it works so well, cos some of it is pretty out there. It is a throwaway line, I'm not to fussed about it myself, I grew up on IDM and love loads of it. I just don't think this stuff comes under that banner and can see why it could be annoying to some people.

S'alright as an article I guess, good to see him get some Grauniad coverage either way. It feels a bit simplistic to reduce him to "Most likely to: Make Blake the go-to producer of UK urban pop" though.

he did a badass mix for us: http://sonicrouter.blogspot.com/2010/02/interview-pariah-r.html

CMYK is an awsome track, Ben UFO played it the other night and it sounded incredible in a club. Pretty sure it sampels Kelis but I could be wrong.

The fact site is being retarded for me today, I can't get on it.

Pariah has a double 12" coming on R&S at some point in the furute too. He did a remix of Erykah Badu recently: http://www.chemical-records.co.uk/sc/servlet/Info?Track=ERCA001 awsome stuff.

Lovely single though.
that, the new OPN and the Kyle Hall on Third Ear are probably my most anticipated records of the next free months.
Pariah is amazing as well. Liked his xx and Ellie Goulding remixes, but had no idea he had something that good in him.

'The name ‘Joystep’ is a dreadful word and I personally hate it with all my being.'

http://www.mtv.co.uk/music/urban/199721-comment-the-future-is-bright-but-is-the-future-dubstep

Who the fuck even says Joystep?!?! Only seen it in that article where he seems to make it up and hate on it all in one go...

Fucking hell though, must know what he's talking about - Joy Orbison, Martyn, FlyLo - basically all the same aren't they?

I understand that there has to be some sort of dumbed-down, name-dropping journalism to initiate the 'plebs' but it's just awful. Dubstep in the 'safe hands' of Jakwob? Oh brilliant.

what is the point of it?? If you're gonna try and document the rise and expansion of dubstep, then at least do so with a bit of depth and context.
in other news, been listening to the CMYK EP today, first impressions are promising, maybe not as good as the Bells Sketch EP, but his talent's showing no signs of abating.

dubstepforum are alyready on it saying it rubish. They did find out who listens to Joystep though: http://www.dubstepforum.com/mtv-the-wrap-up-article-the-future-of-dubstep-t139505-80.html#p1766330

http://www.kolumbus.fi/joysteps/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGaZXNUOCEw

Blackdown spotted this one haha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgFSKYcFeLk

Diesel Not Petrol

I like how even though the two articles above want to put James Blake into an acceptable intellistep™ bracket (let's hope blackdown doesn't check DiS), he bigs up stuff like Caspa and Rusko. Even though they don't do a lot for me, it's nice to see someone massively respected in that side of woods, bigging up brostep. shake things up a little.

I've seen these vids loads in the past but they didn't mention James and you can;t see him in the vids apart from the thug one right at the top if you know who you're lookin at. I doubt he's playing these tunes in normal sets. The dude making the vid is cntrst one of the pipedown lot: http://pipedownson.com/ I think anyway.

i'd kind of hope he wouldn't play Cockney Thug cause it is rubbish, and I'd rather hear him play Outkast or something, but there isn't such a miles apart gap between Rusko and the more respected stuff, even though people try and seperate them.

tbh, I don't really know what I was getting at, just chatting complete nonsense - I think I was just excited about Bristol being on the tv, maybe Gordon Brown will be at Scuba tomorrow night, who knows?

Myself and lazerlife shall be in attendance as well, come say hi.

Oh, and I like Cockney Thug. So shoot me, it's got a massive trumpet line and is crazily skankable. It still feels fast, whereas loads of R&C's shitter stuff is so slow it might as well not be dance at all.

is one of my fav songs I've discovered over the past few months.

2 min 16 sec: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_6ypULnYIE

imagine a whole club filled with people dancing like that. If only we were all hypermobile, eh?
Such an awesome track.

Fucking unbelievable. Best thing he's ever done, by miles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQoQirZwxE4

"Look I found her... RED COAT... look I found her"

but I'll Stay is fucking MINT.

I end up listening to every James Blake song/mix there is on youtube

I like the vocals and bleary-eyed synths on CMYK more though. It's at least as good as The Bells Sketch, which is my other favourite of his.

Been rinsing his remix of Kimbie's 'Maybes', the Bells Sketch EP and the Airhead collaboration recently, and before I got all of those I pretty much wore out the Air & Lack Therof 12" through overplay.

http://www.mixcloud.com/benufo/mix-for-disko404/

You can hear the Harmonimix of Snoop Doggs Drop It Like It's Hot at the end of that Ben UFO mix. He takes Pharell's verse and fucks it up its quality.

big sample!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00scy17#segments

good stuff.

special talent that boy

Got the afternoon off so shall listen to this when I get home later.

http://randsrecords.greedbag.com/

Grab Pariah while your at it, he's amazing.

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14229-cmyk-ep/

I think it's the same writer writing about him/Mount Kimbie etc. so there's the same bollocks about it not dance music, but I quite like the Wong Kar-Wai reference, beats Moby anyhow.

I must say, at the moment, I prefer The Bells Sketch at the moment, just cause it was a bit more lateral, and a bit weirder so when the big hits came in you really got it, but I'll have to spend a bit more time with this one.

It's good either way though, glad he's getting so much love. To be fair, The Bells Sketch avoids being 'dance' music per se simply by virtue of its tempo. CMYK does alright in the dancing stakes...

Out on digital and 12" now. I can't stop playin the CMYK track, so much so that I've hardly played the others yet.

'Postpone' is so, so, so good as well. Along with Kimbie's album it's an incredible double header.

JAG: New Short Circuitry column editorial is about Blake & Kimbie
http://musosguide.com/short-circuitry-007/10546

Also stuff about the new Sigha, Late, Sepalcure, Actress, Baobinga, Kush Arora and more...

By the end of the week I'm pretty sure it'll be my favourite of his so far. When's that piano based one meant to be coming out by the way?

Dom Kimbie was raving about it the other day, so it sounds as though it'll be amazing though.

are still my faves with Bells Sketch and CMYK not far away.

it's going to be amazing on those two alone...

It's all basically jawdropping...

check the last Hessle show on Rinse with Ben UFO he drops a Harmonimix where he makes Trim sing.

http://relay.exequo.org/rinsefm/podcast/HessleAudio030610.mp3 (right click save as) 1hour 30 odd mins...

Fuck.

new Joe and a Wooo Riddim/Glut mashup too. Some mad new Untold earlyer too, that mexican house re-edit of Anaconda and a new housy/grimy pulse x-esq thing. Wicked Bok Bok in there somewhere... Quality old garage, house and techno as always and a wicked remix by Pangaea.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=127754380582961&ref=ts

My Panda Shall Fly too are pretty good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GH5iyLSv4xY

for those that don't tune into the Hessle Audio show on Rinse or go to clubs for some reason...

Full on vocal grime refix, STRIKE A POSE!

just rolls out all nice untill it really goes into orbit at about 2mins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

but yeah you gotta hear it in the mix this youtube is cut kinda short, plus its youtube so you don't get bass...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GH5iyLSv4xY

i was wondering why this thread has been bumped haha.

big up lurkin on dsf for vids of tunes you've heard to show people on other forums! :D

Think it might be my favourite so far - though the Harmonimix of Roll With The Punches is :O

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xluhIFKZi9M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWia_vGs_kg&a=AYMcY2vx8GQwA7BT4hOzf55mRP8bi2A_

when I saw him last friday http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8JeK7ZevI0, but i'll still really love to hear that played out as the last song of the night, just slowing fading away as the lights come out, that'd be pretty much the best thing ever - maybe at the Hessle Audio night next month at the Thekla/Fabric.

the perfect setting for that song indeed

after walking there through a world that is beginning to get light and wake up. Falling asleep to this after that sounds good http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx0dF86T0aU&feature=related

I'd not heard it for a while, but he dropped it last weekend at the Hessle take over of Crazy Legs in Bristol and fuck me that tune still has it. His set was pretty insane, really on it. Untold into Destiny's Child into Coki really shouldn't work but jeeeeeeeeeeez he makes it.

at Thekla yeah haha

Totally. Cannot. Wait.

showing off his singing and all that, can't wait. We haven't seen that side of him at all hardly. He played one of his vocal tracks mixed into Mala in Bristol the other night and it sounded sooooo good, I mean he makes you melt with that tender vocal stuff before ripping you apart with deep bass frequencies, no one does it like James Blake in the club.

I mean the dude takes post burial emotialism way beyond in the club setting. He just fucks off on some massively moving tip before fucking with you more with big bass dropps and amazing music. Before you know it you're throwing gun fingers to Coki riddims after a Beyonce or Big Boi track and its only James Blake's music that makes the American stuff meet the UK underground so seamlessly. Its so strange how it works but it does.

p.s.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GH2EjEpxUK4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxjvXJ0vovY is the obvious standout for the indie crossover. Boy sounds like he's channelling Jeff Buckley's sadder moments all the way through it...

got back from holiday really ill and exhausted that evening. gutted. :( sorry i didn't get back to your pm. obviously i was internetless for that week and a bit.

i almost want to ask how it went but that'll just rub in it a bit. how did you find thekla? lovely old boat. used to be owned by Vivian Stanshall of the bonzo dog doo-dah band's wife I think http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/381333/Vivian+Stanshall.jpg

dude's gonna be about for a while though... so hopefully i'll get more opportunities.

they don't have the soundsystems I'm use to from up here not even in the smaller places but the vibes where sooooo goood it wasnt a prob really it was just 2d rather than 5. It was so much fun when the full Hessle crew got rolling though it was unstopable. Untold is a rave machine. James Blake played it like a seasoned rave DJ too. Ben was on it as always. Rama killed it, Pangaea is such a wicked DJ, underated concidering he's on every Rinse Hessle show with the UFO killing it.

http://www.junodownload.com/products/klavierwerke-ep/1629460-02/

i've been a bit lax on my dusk & blackdown/hessle audios recently and i don't know much of this i've actually heard...seems a much more downtempo vibe

and it's another cracker

why stick it on spotify before it's even been released. It's good to hear more James Blake, it's just I'd like to actually buy it as well...

And ambient records don't go down well with irritating interruptions advertising shitty records...

Ok the adverts are annoying and maybe the sound quality ain't the best (still sounds good to me) but it lets people try before they buy (not that there was ever any question for me) and takes it to a larger audience.

It's out on Monday so not long to wait and it seems fairly standard for people to stream before release these days, don't see how Spotify is any different

I knew CMKY was brilliant, but I didn't realise how much amazing unreleased stuff he had on youtube, especially the Harmonimix stuff and 'I never never learned to share.'

Rinse or go see him DJ, Hessle Audio on Rinse play his unreleased bits and he sometimes plays loads of it in the clubs. It takes on a whole new life there too, hearing him play a piano/voice thing before mixing it right into Mala or something like that is something else, no idea how he makes it work so well.

http://rinse.fm/

on the advice of the DiS dubstep crew. The dusk and blackdown podcast is ace

FRIDAY 1ST OCTOBER

SUBDUB
PRESENTS

EXODUS / DMZ

ROOM 1 : DMZ (IRATION STEPPAS SOUND SYSTEM)
'THIS EVENT WILL BE THE LEEDS LAUNCH OF THE JACK SPARROW 'CIRCADIAN' ALBUM ON TECTONIC.

DIGITAL MYSTIKZ (MALA & COKI) VS LOEFAH
PINCH
KRYPTIC MINDS
QUEST
JACK SPARROW
JAMES BLAKE

MC'S SGT POKES & CRAZY D

ROOM 2 : DANCEHALL / DUB / BASHMENT

THE HEATWAVE FEAT RUBI DAN
MUNGO'S HIFI
FIREHOUSE SOUND
EXODUS
EARTHPIPE

SWEET POTATO SOUND SYSTEM & DECOR

LEEDS WEST INDIAN CENTRE, LAYCOCK PLACE
DOORS 10PM - 5AM
TICKETS £12 + B/F FROM TRIBE,JUMBO & CRASH RECORDS
INFO : INFO@TRIBERECORDS.CO.UK

Its rare someone like him gets a go on that beast!

james blake, ramadanman and darkstar at XOYO tomorrow

Gonna be great :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSTwL9YS3AI

Sad I'm not gonna be able to make it to Leeds for that badbwoy

Ben UFO or Ramadanman in the main room, really suprised he's there even at 10pm haha But then this is the place Jamie Vex'd has come on at like 10:30 and Peverelist plays warm up lol.

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/11996-i-only-know-what-i-know-now/

It does sound absolutely gorgeous. Still can't decide whether to head to XOYO tonight, argh.

but he's been nowt but smooth when I've seen him play even with is insane mixes like Beyonce and Coki or an epic Zomby/James Blake mix I saw him do once. I've never heard Ramadanman play anything but a blinder either, never heard him play d'n'b either haha was it his d'n'b stuff? the strange minimal halfstep stuff that sounds like electro gone wrong via d'n'b, or some mad breaky stuff? I dunno its easy to forget how intense there music is when you get to the club and hera it in that setting sometimes. Ben UFO is one of the best DJs full stop, can't argue with that.

and they're easier to rip the music from.

Seriously, crying over how you get to listen to ***MUSIC FOR FREE*** from artists you adore is total bullshit.

http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4141149-this-weeks-singles--20-09-10

Similar props in the latest Sub Trans column
http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4141106-subliminal-transmissions-02---lhf

DiS loves James Blake. Happy times.

He was a lot of fun on Saturday evening (Darkstar were brilliant), though technicals on the decks screwed the mixing up a bit for the first half. His Harmonimix of Ms. Jackson is nothing short of inspired.

Brilliant set. I think he played a couple of his own Autonomic styled tracks as well. And then finished on track 4 of the Shangaan Electro compilation, which sent the room into a spasm for three or four minutes as they tried to work out how the tell to dance to 180bpm four-to-the-floor.

They played his Feist cover on Zane Lowe tonight. Very strange...

Is this a good thing?

http://www.factmag.com/2010/10/06/james-blake-klavierwerke/

Increasingly coming to the conclusion that he's going to be the biggest thing that emerges from the dubstep scene, even bigger than Burial.

Great stuff.

And yeah I agree with you there. I'm actually starting to wonder whether he can do a Massive Attack now and redefine what pop is in the country in a way Burial didn't really manage. I reckon he's in with a good chance if he starts featuring his vocals more prominently anyway...

http://pitchfork.com/tv/#/musicvideo/8426-james-blake-limit-to-your-love-atlas

Still none the wiser as to who ATLAS are. All I found was a Spanish Facebook page.

I really disliked the 'arty' Mt. Kimbie one but this one is 'arty' and absolutely beautiful at the same time.

Put a tenner on him winning the Mercury? Seriously, he's going to be huge isn't he?

Like a better, more popular version of Jamie Lidell.

Proper goosebumps material, that is.

He's gonna be massive for his poppy stuff and wonderfully confusing for his non-poppy stuff, which is a pitch perfect mix really. His Harmonimixes are getting better and better as well - Ms. Jackson, Roll With The Punches and Drop It Like It's Hot tear the older ones apart. The problem is, everyone knows it's him now, and I wonder whether he'll be able to get away with such blatant sample stealing if he releases them, even on white.

No idea, but an album is good news.

That's every release this year by him that's picked one up. Pitchfork is definitely giving the album a Merriweather level reception when it comes out...

:')

http://www.nme.com/photos/the-cool-list-2010/193206/1/1#5

was the BOMB!

Somehow I've ended up doing an interview with Mr Blake later on today. If any of you have any questions - particularly about the album - I would be more than happy to put them to him.

without releasing a single album. Best run of eps to mascerade as an album since Shackleton last year who blatently called his CD Thee EPs and still got in loads of album lists. Fresh! Glad the Hessle EP got noticed I've seen a lot of indie peeps miss that one cos it didn't have a big push like the two on R&S.

seeing him tonight, but I think he's just DJing. anyone know what he's like as a DJ? play a lot of his own stuff?

still think i'm more excited about the double whammy of SCUBA LIVE and SCB too! :D

You don't have any idea about stage times do you?

Come say hi again :)

Everything tonight's wicked - George Fitz, Scuba, SCB, Sigha, Blake, Will Saul, Sepalcure (whose new EP is lovely). Should be fun!

Blake tends to play a fair amount of his own stuff mixed with R'n'B and dubstep type of stuff.

yeah its an amazing line-up. I just hope there aren't too many clashes between the 2 rooms!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/soundof/2011/artists/jamesblake/

impressed

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/soundof/2011/artists/jamesblake/#p00d4900

Lindisfarne

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/soundof/2011/artists/jamesblake/#p00d48zg

Wilhelms Scream

Airhead EE mix with some more colabs and new Harmonimixes.

http://drownedinsound.com/community/boards/music/4276255

obvious single

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmZg7tvGN9o

yeah it kinda does, has Chris de Burgh got anymore bangers?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0ofp0a-Qwk ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RFunvF0mDw ?

hahah

Oh man that version is sweet. Nobody Here is brilliant mind wana hear more of that side of Oneohtrix Point Never?.

James Blake has come a long way since his eary vocal demos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXcKrq2hEnE so we should give him slack for the hype.

i guess it's hard to get hold of but you should check Chuck Person's EccoJams vol.1 by him; basically a big mixtape of all that sort of stuff. the kgb man and dania shapes material is a bit like that too sometimes...i like this jackson remix
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWv_BECpVMk

scribles

only did 7? songs though.

dubbed out extension of limit to your love was super, then finished on anti war dub.

soundsystem in there is great.

James Blake – The Bells Sketch EP / CMYK EP / Klavierwerke EP (511/4,091/na)

http://marathonpacks.tumblr.com/post/2728942718/data

I didn't make this record for Chris Moyles, I'm in the dubstep scene

I was saying...

We couldn't get a pic of mr blake for love nor money (we dont have any money) in sep 09 when we interviewed him first we had to use the art to Hemlock instead http://thequietus.com/articles/02845-sonic-router-006-a-dubstep-column-for-october

But now his goon face is selling records and on articles: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/jan/22/james-blake-dubstep-scene

Gotta love it, bless the blake!

:D

When he discovered dubstep, he says, it was all he and his friends would talk about; and despite being part of the "protest generation" and going to Goldsmiths, one of the institutions most threatened by the coalition's cuts to arts education, Blake didn't even look up for long enough to vote at the last election.

but they got it right on this quote: "It's a reminder that dubstep has a weapon few other genres can boast: sounds so penetrating they actually manifest themselves as a physical presence."

Sitting diffidently at his keyboard but singing like a fallen angel, Blake plays a six-song set culminating in a non-album tune called Anti-War Dub (so not that apolitical, perhaps).

I wrote 'lolz' after that.

Also, I feel pretty funny about him admitting to not having voted in the general election, heh.

It's like going from 2D music to 3D, heheh

as long as he doesn't then go on to write songs called 'No NHS Blues' or 'Public > Private' etc. If people aren't into politics they shouldn't feel obligated to vote because it detracts from the votes of people who care.

eh?? How much of a cunt would you have to be to have a policy that you never listened to any covers of your songs?!

The impact of politics is the same on people who 'care' and people who don't think they care.

If someone live in a society where you they use the services that the goverment provides, they have a stake in politics and will invariably have an opinion on developments that affect them personally. If that's the case, they should feel obliged to vote, even just to actively engage with the society they live in. It's a moral, if not a legal, duty.

a manchester date should be at least

possibly?

:D/:(

(i do like the fact absolutely everything he casually tweets eventually ends up in some kind of shit newspaper article.

http://jamesblaketickets.sandbag.uk.com/Store/DisplayItems.html

cannot get on that site. What are the dates?

10th Feb 2011
St Pancras Old Church, London
23rd Feb 2011
Thekla, Bristol
24th Feb 2011
St Pancras Old Church, London
26th Feb 2011
Band on the Wall, Manchester
27th Feb 2011
Nice n Sleazy, Glasgow

http://drownedinsoundcloud.com/post/2957419262/james-blake-measurements-just-what-the

is pretty damn sweet, heard him spin it a few times in the past.

No matter how popular or acclaimed they may be, I could NEVER listen to another artists interpretation of MY work!!!

I may get it on vinyl if there's a download code going with it as well.

My my, the way the song develops! Gorgeous stuff.

this is 3rd on the list when you type "James Blake music" into google. Good work!

most veiws and all that so it makes sense. Its cos James Blake rules and people are picking up on it, only took us since 2009 haha

is incredible, AOTY contender

Is this for real??!!

but still, even £21 is a fucking rip off, whether it's a double LP or not.

I'll prob just get the CD now. Wont mix much with these bits anyway so its alright, rather have the wax but its kinda silly at that price. Darkstar's album on wax last year was about £9.

like why is it SO variable?

A lot of labels especialy bigger ones see the vinyl as a life style thing that geeks will buy for bigger prices if they make it look nice so they prob bump up the price. Others its more of a funtional thing, its just how they like to release stuff, its not an extra special object its just what it is often something ot batter about while DJing haha. Plus I bet there are loads of variables to do with how many you press and where you get it mastered, what artwork there is and any problems that come up in the pressing process.

Think I need to avoid that. Someone, somewhere will be taking the piss out of me!

Where's the actual release date for his album, it's this month isn't it?

his new stuff is too minimal to listen to.

he'll prob be busy with promo for the album and live dates to get much going for a while. He'll do somat on labels like that again at some point no doubt. Can't see him ditching it. Even Skream releases on loads of independent labels and he's on a majour now and prob loads bigger than Blakey.

suprised its still about, I could do with grabbing it really. I havent got round to getting the original vinyl yet either let along the remixes.

Gin Mixer on red and gold vinyl I think.

http://recordsaremypillow.bigcartel.com/

But I didn't get around to grabbing it then

£10 each from boomkat. Not terrible, I just want to mix in the end of wilhelms scream and turn it up incredibly loud. I also think it'll sound good mixed into scritti politti's sad songs.

i'll try it anyway, if it's a success i'll let you know

http://www.factmag.com/2011/02/04/james-blake-james-blake/
http://thequietus.com/articles/05632-james-blake-review

It's much better than I expected. The last few tracks from To Care (Like You) to Measurements are particularly good, and the synthy bit at the end of I Never Learnt to Share is incredible. Really impressed by it.

Haven't heard the album yet but was rather surprised to see adverts for it on the tube.

he held one once

he always wanted to be a train driver, it all adds up.

http://www.sonicrouter.com/2011/02/recommended-james-blake-james-blake.html

how quickly the prices of his EPs have skyrocketed on discogs.

£55 for Bells Sketch? £25-65 for CMYK?

These are all available somewhere on the internet for around 6.99. For now anyway.

very good album, don't really get the backlash myself.

is a bit of an over the top way to start an article on James Blake isn't it?

but it's crackling real bad. Bit gutted. Does anyone else have this problem?

seems like a lot of people, myself included, were put off both albums because of what they are not. Like Darkstar, James Blake's initial output suggested a different, perhaps more interesting direction.

I really like Darkstar's record now and I'm starting to like this one too. I think the Blake's album suffers by having one of it's weaker tracks as the opener. His vocal sounds a bit too 'affected' with the croak and the disjoint between the melody and beats doesn't sound intentional enough to mark it up as a nod to Madlib, Flying Lotus and others, even though I'm sure it is.

Second half much better. Now if I can only put Bon Iver out of my mind.

what's the times for the shows this week? My super confirmation whcih isn't even really an eticket doesn't say.

Maybe I'd rate it more around an 8, but I agree with everything written in the review.

maybe a half point too high but frankly its nice to have some of the below-average ratings evened out

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15081-james-blake/

Congrats James Blake on the 9.0 best new music.

sounds LUSH.

not the p4k trying to look cool cliche bullshit beforehand cheers

there are about 3 songs with piano in them and looking at the sleeves there are only 7 songs out of 13 which have more than 2 lines, which is pretty weird by normal "singer-songwriter" standards. The production is brilliant and bass heavy.

I've worked out two JB/scritti politti mixes btw, got to work on them a bit though.

'Would be far better if he'd continued in the style of his previous releases'?...isn't it nice to see progression though?

I really hope he has the contractual leeway to continue along the electronic route he was forging with the first 4 12"s on smaller labels. I don't see any reason (apart from artistic license) why he can't continue with the vocal focus as well as the more instrumental work.

(and the idea that a grumpy middle-aged bloke from bristol is going to be hopping off to go listen to DMZ with it's "bent vocal hooks" back in 2004 and is somehow a dubstep purist, despite pretty easily googleable interviews saying exactly the opposite. jfc.)

The mix is gonna be mainly over-emotive/cheesy 2step and dubstep I think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF24CEasKSg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWPE_XvzrTs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcWlo032S9k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8phVpCT5Gs

etc

not that pinch is cheesy.

It's just different, it's not singer-songwriter at all- it's sparse, delicate music and probably the most tasteful use of piano I've heard in a long time. The album was pretty much complete before Universal got involved from what I've read?

Surely to release stuff like this as an album makes perfect sense, while continuing to do 12"s? You've got to take it for what it is...I think people are far too used to artists using early releases to dip their toe in the water, and then rehash it all, with a few new tracks, for a debut album, the place where their 'sound' is fully established. But it seems like James Blake has a very clear vision. I think the album is just as great as I thought it would be and I'm very much looking forward to whatever he releases next.

I think there's a lot better to come from him yet but this is a brilliant debut.

They reviewed most of the scene's best albums last year and pretty consistently gave them high scores. The only thing they didn't do was give out BNMs to them which presumably is because they think most Americans just wouldn't get why Actress is a great album.

Klavierwerke came out after the deal with Atlas/Universal/whatever came about i think. so i imagine it must be a fairly loose thing.

He is to dubstep what Portishead were to trip-hop etc.

Myself, haven't heard the record. What I have heard isn't encouraging me to do so in any rush. I'll get round to it when I want to... Doubt anything will bite quite so hard as CYMK though.

Or are they Universal-involved?

and have bought every other release too. I've always thought CMYK was a bit overrated, still good though, rest of that EP is amazing. I didn't warm to Klavierwerke as much, I felt it was maybe a bit too..i dunno, slight, perhaps, though it retrospect it set him up perfectly for the album.

universal/Polydor...potato/potato

(oh wait, i've just looked it up, and Polydor are a subsidiary of the Universal Music Group, as is just about everyone else I think. apparently R&S are, yeh. but they don't seem to exercise any creative control so blerrr...

but in conclusion, yeh it's entirely possible his deal with Universal lets him release on their 2 subsidiaries R&S + Atlas, and he won't be releasing anything on Hessle Audio/Hemlock/Brainmath/whatever in the future but idk really. we'll see.)

the james blake of his new lp is to dubstep what my mum is to trip-hop.

(the daughter of either 3D or the other one from massive attack used to be in her swimming lessons, and she really likes teardrop since she heard it at a funeral once)
... if you were wondering

If Blake really does cross over and become the pretty white male who introduces a broader audience to dubstep, with its foundations in Jamaican music and black musicians in South East London, he'll receive the tired, requisite backlash. But these 11 songs-- gorgeous, indelible tunes that are as generous in content as they are restrained in delivery-- will last a lot longer.

I JUST HAD A RANT THAT GOT EATEN

If Blake really does cross over and become the pretty white male who introduces a broader audience to dubstep, with its foundations in Jamaican music and black musicians in South East London, he'll receive the tired, requisite backlash. But these 11 songs-- gorgeous, indelible tunes that are as generous in content as they are restrained in delivery-- will last a lot longer.

I don't like the P4k review at all. It's got that typical P4kish undertone of: this is ok to like because it's more than 'just dubstep', or in spite of the fact that it's 'dubstep', because it makes concessions to a crowd that need something to be more than 'just' dance music, yeah?

FFS

Its tone carries echoes of that awful Peverelist review - why go about reviewing a dubstep album then slating it because it's not easy enough to be used to 'spice up indie kids' iPods'

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13765-jarvik-mindstate/

And there's something vaguely dodgy about the above quote, the one that's ended up in both my posts above (aside from the fact that's it's wrong) -

STOP TALKING ABOUT DUBSTEP

IT'S NOT A DUBSTEP ALBUM, FOR FUCK'S SAKE

Basically.

Somewhere in between I would say. Decent record, not usually my kind of thing, but very listenable. Hardly earth-shakingly great though. I think P4k painted themselves into a corner somewhat by giving so much love to those previous EPs; was still surprised to see them score it as high as a 9.0 though, as opposed to say an 8.2.

that the number of times James Blake, Hyetal, Joker, Girl Unit, Ramadanman, Darkstar, etc have appeared in their best new singles section would speak for itself really.

http://www.amazon.com/Where-To-Turn/dp/B00169YIZC

..or do you not need to credit all the writers??

Aw how sweet :3

the original so he prob isn't fussed. Thats the rumours anyway, he's hinted at having an awsome Yacht rock dad and he covered one of his songs. Turns out its prob this.

."{his} dad...was a musician. Blake won't name him – "He always says don't get him involved" – but does mention that he played one of his records when he guested on Rob Da Bank's Radio 1 show (which suggests it might be James Litherland)".

hmmm. that's quite sweet really.

really good tune too

awwww blakey!

I just had a listen to the album on Spotify. Not bad but I can't say it did very much for me to be honest. Twattish as it sounds, I couldn't really get on with the soul/R&B reference points, and I found it a bit dull overall, and occasionally a bit too wilfully disjointed. It kind of reminded me of The XX, if the drum machine guy had a .

HATERS GONNA HATE or something.

Thanks DiS.

how people who've never heard of him before now bar Limit To Your Love in passing are taking this album. With no preconceptions if you came into Wilhelm Scream halfway through you'd wonder what the hell was going on.

I didn't think 'spice up indie kinds' ipods' would be an actual quote

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-90EW2Om4t0

Pretty hideous. Not to mention wrong.

And I'm not sure in what universe they would ever be considered a gateway to dubstep. The vocal focus is too strong for that I reckon. Besides, I thought Burial's 'Untrue' did a pretty good job of being a gateway album. Speaking of mercury nominees, I'm willing to put a modest sum on James Blake at this point.

I think the already present backlash is probably due to having only just established himself with a series of EPs and singles, he has already made quite a large stylistic change. Most people probably wanted a continuation over a mutation. If you get me.

any ideas of times?

cheers

http://pitchfork.com/news/41527-listen-james-blake-covers-joni-mitchell/

He's got quite a voice, actually.

That is a stunning cover

https://www.box.net/shared/static/c0heo80qun.mp3

(not my work)

By the way, that 'if blake does cross over...' thing is a quote from the Pitchfork review that kept eating my post. I'm entirely in agreement with you about Blake's album not being a gateway to dubstep (hence my rant just above).

I'm cool with him having changed styles, it just doesn't do either him or dubstep much credit to keep talking about it with reference to what's essentially an electronic pop album.

Nice to hear it completely without any processing.

These songs are bigger than the defense of any microgenre, and, chances are, they'll soon make Blake a star. He deserves it.

there was quote marks and a JFC after that.

Just saw him in the church. Always a bad sign when they play one of the EP tracks before he comes on, like you're not getting any more of THAT tonight.

The EPs are great and I'm no expert on this music but you're RATING the Joni Mitchell cover??? FFS, this man is hailed as the future of music in some quarters and he's doing Joni Mitchell covers? Ah well, for once I'm with brightonb, early stuff = great, album = coffee table.

The drummer was great though.

I'm old, but I listened to some Techno Animal and The Bug and the way home to satisfy my bass requirements; that made me happy.

Even CMYK just came out in May, it's very far from being old. He's more or less doing both styles at the same time.

That's always a good sign!

So please understand that Jarvik Mindstate is not an album designed for indie rockers looking to spice up their iPods. Peverelist is making music for people like himself, people who've been following the UK's bass-centric and heavily syncopated post-jungle dance scene for most of its decade-plus history.

trying again: I never heard the Peverelist album so don't know whether that quote is demonstrably true, but I think it's pretty far from *horrible* or *wrong*

That quote is wrong because actually I'd argue that Jarvik Mindstate is a lot more accessible than a lot of dubstep full-lengths (Pinch, Kode9 & Spaceape), but it's also wrong because that's entirely the wrong way to view a record that shouldn't be spoken of in terms like that at all. The fact that a phrase like that (spicing up iPods) even entered the review is suggestive of an entirely different set of critical parameters being used to review the record, ones which I don't believe are in any way relevant.

DiS just ate half of my reply, which actually was the important bit.

ARGH

Anyway, I basically said why bother reviewing it at all if you're going to say 'this isn't for a P4k audience'? It's not like it was likely to enter their readers' musical spheres anyway, and in that sense it's about as useful as reviewing a death metal record then slating it because it's too heavy and not accessible enough for a non-death metal audience. If that makes sense.

And it's reminded me of just how great CMYK actually is.

I mean, really, is any of the album anywhere near that level?

Didn't think I'd be particularly interested in hearing him cover Joni Mitchell but his voice sounds really good, shows what he can do when it's COMPLETELY stripped back, as Rory says.

Unlucky, The Wilhelm Scream, I Never Learnt To Share, Lindsfarne II, Measurments. Its all to low key to compare with the energy of the other EPs/singles/remixes really. I'm always going to be more excited for the mad dance tracks, its the way I'm built haha I'm enjoying this album in mellow kind of way.

fwiw I have a decent enough idea of dude's taste to be fairly sure that he wouldn't consider being confined to one genre (especially a British dance one) as an inherent black mark against a record; I get the impression he really wanted to like it but just wasn't feeling the tracks, which is slightly different from clowning on something *for* being a "genre exercise". That said I don't much care for writing for your audience in that way, especially online where people are fairly likely to come across reviews by googling the name and title, rather than necessarily being a regular reader - but eh horses for courses

but I was listening to Bells Sketch on my way to the concert which I think we can all agree is some way apart from a piano-only Joni cover which is what he closed the set with.

except at a stretch Unluck and To Care (Like You)

exactly, it's not easy/fair to compare them really.

I just feel like, going at the review without any prior knowledge of the reviewer, it gives quite a different impression to what's actually meant.

But yeah, s'only one review, not the end of the world really...

jetfury Geoff Barrow
fuk me!! make one comment!! just for you record.i wasnt digging at the artist you think.i was digging at some bristol commerial pubstep

maybe he's not grumpy after all!

...thinking of club night ideas...

if he'd done an EP of processed singer/songwriter folk, would there be a backlash? No, people would just say he was exploring a different aspect of his sound, as he has with his other EPs. It's the very fact that it's an album which seems to be the problem, as if this is a more definitive statement than the other EPs. Nah, he's just taken an element of his sound, expanded it, run with it, and made a full release out of it. I'm sure for the next release it'll be a different strand

good record, like

After all, didn't Beth Gibbons start out as a 'pub singer?'

James Litherland IS my father, not a man that was produced by my father.

More the crazily OTT way it's been marketed.

Agreed, good record, but the hype pushed expectations to ridiculous levels. The same reaction would have occurred with CMYK if it had been hyped as much, for sure.

Limit To Your Love 10"

£54.99
http://www.discogs.com/sell/item/32155210?ev=bp_titl

£6.49
http://boomkat.com/vinyl/349384-james-blake-limit-to-your-love

:')

http://www.redeyerecords.co.uk/products/James_Blake/James_Blake_ATLAS001.html

CMKY 12"

£64.99
http://www.discogs.com/sell/item/29069183?ev=bp_titl
at least 10 diffrent copies at that price.

£5.99
http://www.redeyerecords.co.uk/products/James_Blake_CMKY_EP/James_Blake_CMKY_EP_RS1003.html
new

http://www.chemical-records.co.uk/sc/servlet/Info?Track=ATLAS01

http://bleep.com/index.php?page=release_details&releaseid=27039

The hardest to get of the new EPs...

£54.99
http://www.discogs.com/sell/item/30095781?ev=bp_titl

€7.99
http://clone.nl/item17395.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-ehllI7Jts

Wish this was a Skream remix :(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdPIyXrPtu0

listened to it a few times when it leaked in december(?) and it began growing on me, gave it a resting period and recently picked it back up.

this time around all the little quirks and attention to detail jumped out at me and i was hooked. it manages to tow that same line radiohead managed with kid a/amnesiac where the music is soothing enough to relax, but interesting enough to lose yourself in. sparse, but never background music.

i can probably count the number of albums this engaging to me on my left hand, so pretty much for that reason alone, i think it's really special.

anyway, I've given it a few spins and i like it, the piano stuff doesn't do much for me especially Give Me My Month but I'm enjoying the rest

comparisons to the eps are pretty pointless imo

Discogs is full of stuff like that. The sales history shows that people aren't paying the stupid prices though.

this same good from discogs is doing it there too: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/James-Blake-CMYK-EP-LIMITED-BLACK-VINYL-12-BRAND-NEW-/110629005197?pt=UK_Records&hash=item19c200a78d

What a twonk.

LIMITED BLACK VINYL!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNWTxOqKqBE&nofeather=True
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0ptuFYseXg&nofeather=True

kinda wish he'd put them on the cd instead of give me my month and the real cringey why don't you call me. err, ne'er mind.

does sound quite like about 30% of my record collection tho. :(

this isn't meant to be a snidey comment or whatever but does anyone else find it interesting in terms of the the stuff about coming from a dance context and moving into pop that for me, a lot of tracks that have been about for a while work quite well on the album, but somehow had a bit more impact when mixed in with all sorts of dance stuff on the ee mix, ben ufo stuff and hessle audio shows from round that time.

maybe it's just a question of having too much of a good thing or idk it might to do with the fact that stuff like unluck and i never learned to share work on a lot of pretty persistent repetition and so to me (altho i love historical minimalism and stuff so i don't think it's a question of 'not getting it')

ALSO (everyone's stopped reading by this point). People get pissed off about the idea of some-kind of back-lash or talk of a 'build-them-up and knock them down-cycle'. other than DiS (where for me, the score was too low for the review, perhaps just because Noel (i think, sorry if i'm wrong) is perhaps a bit more judicious in his allocation of marks than other DiS reviewers, idk.(if you compare that score with the internal score system that DiS sets up - where average records often get a 6/7 it seem pretty wack since the review states it has 'brave gestures'/'great moments' etc) I don't think there's actually been that much a backlash, it's mainly been critics going 'look we've hyped him to death'(and from the bells sketch forward' there's not been anyone i remember as hyped in the era of 'bass music' or whatever as James Blake.) and now let's step back and honestly assess how good this is as a piece of work. most of the reviews i've read haven't gone, 'oh what a dick that James Blake is, with his vocoders, and his curly hair. grrrr.' they've mostly just been honestly looking at the record and saying well, this works, this doesn't. To me that's kind of the job of criticism; in defining what isn't good or doesn't work it really makes much clearer what does. Equally hype has a different purpose; people who write for fact or DiS' column what to convince the great unwashed to listen to this music, they want to say 'Oh look this guy's exciting, let's see what happens', but without a significant body of work there's not point writing a piece on the first single a new artist no-one's ever heard of going 'Ohhh, arrrr. Idk.' But everyone's heard of James Blake, he's got an big album out; by all means give your honest assessment of that record.

there should be another bit before the ALSO saying that Unluck/I Never Learned to Share worked better mixed, because the good bits, Unluck's amazing chorus are pretty sharp in mixes and surrounded by other stuff. Surrounded by dweeby piano numbers, space and endless repitions of the build-up, it's still nice but seems a little less impactful.

idk tho, maybe i'm listening to it the wrong way. perhaps i should pretend it's terry riley or someone/

oh that's great. good for him.

I saw him DJ quite some time ago now and he really mixed it up, playing his own vocal bits with stuff like Zomby, Ramadanman, Terror Danjah, Coki, Mala and umm Outkast... They hit way harder than they do on this album. They acted is dreamy slow jams and a rest bite in the madness.

$100,000.

http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/792/tumblrlfzz9gdsqi1qdawze.gif

Whoever gets the most this's this'd wins all the lolz.

As black as midnight on a moon... less... ni-iiight...

after forgetting the next line in I Never Learnt to Share

http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/792/tumblrlfzz9gdsqi1qdawze.gif

That said, I've just heard it once so maybe there's still hope.

is getting a repress, its out 28th feb-ish kinda time so says the ST holdings release sheet. Good news, its the hardest one to get.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGk2TojOd-4&feature=player_detailpage#t=92s

Thank you for your contribution.

^really bored of seeing that phrase on indie websites lol

http://pitchfork.com/news/41739-james-blake-to-release-new-single/

New single! W/ new B-Sides, lookin forward to hearing those. I wonder if he's going to remix any of his own stuff... I'd love to hear him remix it than anyone else.

Anyone know where I can pick up a pair of tickets for either of this month's gigs.. or let me know if you're selling. Cheers

:')

But for some reason I find his LP rather annoying.

STOP BUMPING THIS THREAD.

http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=5069&type=Albums

James blake is dope..he's got an eclectic style...

check out this electro/dubstep Charlie Sheen mashup!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w5WvCMOPGM

Welcome home

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuGgItDo5_0&feature=player_embedded

http://soundcloud.com/tropicalbombe/james-drake-mixtape-bombe-mr-caribbean

when's that R&S release dropping?

http://www.surus.co.uk/order-/-pan-12374.aspx

Then you can here samples here:

http://www.hmvdigital.com/artist/james-blake/order-pan

Pan sounds pretty bloody good. Bit of a Juke influence maybe.

Saw him live at Bestival and it seemed like he was starting to get a handle on mixing the singer with the producer properly. This for me just confirms it.

Erik Satie – Gnossienne No.5
James Blake – Olivia Kept
James Blake Versus Drake – Half Heat Full Versus Up All Night
James Blake – Pan
SALEM – Trapdoor
Snoop Dogg – Drop it like it’s Not (Harmonimix)
[unknown] – Unknown
Klaus – Tarry
D’Angelo – One mo’ Gin
[unknown] – Sicko Cell
Blawan – What You Do With What You Have [R&S Records]
James Blake – No More Than A Road (Dub)
James Blake – At Birth (Dub)
The Chain – Suffer For Your Art [R&S Records]
Peverelist – Roll With The Punches (Harmonimix)
[unknown] – Navigator
OutKast – Return of the G
Africa Hitech – Out In The Street
DJ Nate – 3 Peat
James Blake – Deeds
Gavin Bryars – Three Elegies for Nine Clarinets II
Gavin Bryars – Three Elegies for Nine Clarinets III
Odi et Amo – Johann Johannsson
Grouper – Vessel
James Blake – Untitled
James Blake – Untitled
[unknown] – What Was It
The Tallest Man on Earth – Love Is All
SALEM – Redlights
Rev. James Cleveland – Jesus Saves
Trim – Confidence Boost (Harmonimix)
James Blake – Evening Fell Hard For Us
James Blake – Placing Us
James Blake – Words We Both Know
Arthur Russell – Love Comes Back
Stevie Wonder – You and I

http://mixdeluxe.wordpress.com/2011/09/17/essential-mix-%E2%80%93-2011-09-17-%E2%80%93-james-blake/

I wasn't expecting much but the sun came out for the first time that weekend and it was a great set. I reckon he has a lot of potential.

from the new Love What Happened Here EP. Out next month.
http://soundcloud.com/the-405/james-blake-curbside
... and he's not singing! :o

encouraging stuff, loving the Quasimoto sample, he may save his 2011 yet!

and I'm still not a massive fan, although his pre- album EPs are pretty sensational in places. he recently released a brilliant 7" with two new songs "Pan" and "Order", both of which were some of the most unnerving but brilliant songs I've ever heard. However his latest EP "Enough Thunder" was just diabolical, especially that collab with Bon Iver.

finally came out on vinyl musta been an epic pressint fail at one point or another for that much of a delay.

Curbside is such a mad oddball track. At Birth is ace too.

http://www.factmag.com/2012/06/22/james-blake-announces-new-release-on-rs-under-harmonimix-alias/

Coming out after all this time.

http://youtu.be/mb6rNoLStrE

Trim again.

Would much prefer to hear something newer by him. Both sides are cool though.

http://blackdownsoundboy.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/trim-v-james-blake-story.html

https://twitter.com/zanelowe/status/299467130712252417