How is one able to create music that makes for a combination of desiring to dance, and to sit and vibe out at the same time? A question that hopefully gets answered, one need only ask James Blake. The R&B/dubstep artist has released another collection of titles in a new EP in recent months, and for new listeners it will probably sound like a very different type of music. For current fans, it will be a combination of what Blake’s listeners have come to expect from him, while also seeing some difference and nuance in his latest four track extended play.
Jay-Z. His latest EP is titled Before, only consisting of four tracks that anyone can get through if they have twenty minutes to set aside.
For those who may not know, James Blake isn’t new to the scene. He’s not new, but he’s not technically mainstream either (at least he doesn’t seem to want to be) which means he definitely deserves a shout out. However that said, he’s still worked with some of the biggest names in the mainstream such as Kendrick Lamar, Frank Ocean, and even Jay-Z. His latest EP is titled Before, only consisting of four tracks that anyone can get through if they have twenty minutes to set aside. Like many artists in 2020, James Blake’s new music is shaped by the current state of the world, which is to say fairly weighty. Made credible by his electronic synth type of rhythm and blues approach to making music, Blake doesn’t deviate from this style but instead, amplifies it in coincidence with his take on how things are in comparison to how they were before the world became gripped by this plague.
The four tracks are I Keep Calling, Before, Do You Ever, and Summer of Now. All four songs have similar aspects that make them consistent, yet still somehow different from one another. His lyricism on all of the tracks is indicative of pain and sadness, though understandable in a year where many people have suffered emotionally and economically. I Keep Calling is one of the tracks that one might find themselves stepping to in a club, of course, whenever that is allowed again. The tempo is upbeat, but his vocals are still soft and high pitched to give the track a unique balance. Before begins slower but eventually ticks up faster, Blake singing about his internal struggles of necessity and the feeling that he’s never needed others before until now. Do You Ever is really more a question than anything, in a literal sense saying “do you ever think about me?” and the hopes of getting an honest answer in whomever it may be directed at. The closing track Summer of Now is the song that hits the hardest, constantly referencing the summer of 2015, serving as a remembrance of what life was like before the present day and how life has changed for near everyone.
An interesting experiment no doubt, is Blake’s new EP. Perhaps a full album of similar style is in the future? Time will tell. The tracks are currently available for stream on Spotify and YouTube.
