James Blake new video
Album released on Monday
It's fair to say that young James Blake has a lot of weight resting on his shoulders.
Hailed as the king of post-dubstep bass driven electronics when tracks such as 'Air And Lack Thereof' and 'CMYK' appeared on Hemlock and R&S, the newly revitalised electronic label that helped to define techno in the '90s, his subsequent signing to Polydor added the title of singer-songwriter to his bow, bringing the same sense of spaciousness to this as he had his more experimental tracks, and covering Feist and Gonzales' 'Limit to Your Love' to widespread acclaim.
His debut album drops on Monday 7th February, followed by next single 'The Wilhelm Scream' on 7th March. With praise already heaped upon him by everyone from NME to Pitchfork (you can check DJmag's review in our current February issue), and the possibility of a mainstream crossover artist from the more interesting side of dance, can he live up to the hype? And if he doesn't, does it matter anyway?
Check the album sampler below and admire some of his finest moments so far.