Gone are the endlessly repeating, soulful lyrics. Even the R&B samples of his earlier works are absent. Also, forget about the pulsing synth patterns or the odd bit of piano. Oh, and the slowly building atmospheres of his album have been left aside, too. In fact, there isn’t even the slightest hint at a melody, harmony or indeed anything to do with what you might call a “song.”
[Purchase] James Blake’s rise has been somewhat meteoric. Barely two years ago, before even finishing university, he’d released his first double A-side on Hemlock Recordings, run by Jack Dunning, better known as the experimental dubstep producer Untold. The result was Air and Lack Thereof, which picked up some crucial airtime from Radio 1’s globetrotting DJ and international tastemaker Gilles Petersen. From there, Blake went from strength to strength, releasing EPs on the much respected R&S and Hessle Audio labels, as well as picking up further Radio 1 exposure from the likes of Nick Grimshaw and Zane Lowe.
And as if all this critical lauding wasn’t enough, 2011 turned out to be an even bigger year for Blake, with the release of eponymous debut album sending music journalists into a gushing, salivating frenzy, and except a wee backlash from certain musicians such as Portishead’s Geoff Barrow (“Will this decade be remembered as the dubstep meets pub singer years?”), he’s had nothing but praise since the very start. On top of this, James Blake also got him shortlisted for the Critic’s Choice at the BRIT Awards and earned him second place in the BBC’s Sound of 2011 competition. Wow. So, having squeezed Wikipedia for all it’s worth, what’s he up to now?
Well, trying to get as far away from fame as he possibly can, it seems. Round / Pan is his latest 12” (and digital release) for Hemlock. And it’s not at all what we’ve come to expect from Blake. Gone are the endlessly repeating, soulful lyrics. Even the R&B samples of his earlier works are absent. Also, forget about the pulsing synth patterns or the odd bit of piano. Oh, and the slowly building atmospheres of his album have been left aside, too. In fact, there isn’t even the slightest hint at a melody, harmony or indeed anything to do with what you might call a “song.”
No, this record is purely about rhythm, plain and simple, almost as if Blake got bored of his signature sounds and set himself the task of adhering to the strictest of limitations just as a kind of academic challenge of some sort. Yet it’s still undeniably Blake at the controls. Quite how he pulls this off is beyond me, but even though these tracks are extremely hard going, they do have a certain charm…
Both tunes scream ANALOGUE in foot-high letters with their warm, overdriven, hissing tape saturation, almost as if a few corroded, circuit-bent drum machines have been left to their own devices in a post-apocalyptic London basement. Thus “Round” lurches from one shuffled beat to the next, broken only by an electronic cowbell breakdown of sorts, a swelling undercurrent of deep sub bass throughout and the occasional sample of what I imagine to be Grime rapper Trim saying, “It’s a ting.” It’s almost like Blake has just discovered that when a beat is played over and over it actually becomes quite hypnotic.
“Pan,” on the other hand, is the stronger of the two tunes in my opinion and particularly reminded me of Radiohead’s most oblique electronic moments, with a driving yet repetitive rhythm, layered atmospherics and very little else, almost like a halftime version of “Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors.” The other comparison to draw, at least in terms of the sheer minimalism and dark atmospherics, is that of Shackleton. And with everything stripped away to the bare bones as it is here, you really do end up noticing the tiniest of details, such as how the drums change shape throughout a track, how the layers of rhythm interact with each other or how your ears gradually adjust to the subtlest of background sounds. It’s undoubtedly good, but it won’t be for everyone…
As I say, this record is such an extreme volte-face from James Blake that you would be forgiven for thinking it was a deliberate attempt to throw off some of his newfound fans. In the case of this reviewer, however, Blake has categorically failed: I’m still with him 100% of the way.
Round / Pan is out now on Hemlock. [Purchase]
HEK011 James Blake by Hemlockrecordings
