Over the years, British singer-songwriter James Blake’s oeuvre has become distinctly eclectic. But it’s in his new EP Before where the 32-year-old London-born producer forges his most original musical intervention yet. Blake takes full ownership of his music in the dazzling EP, and something tells us he won’t be returning to his former signature down-tempo and melancholic sound.
Rejecting the “sad boy” label
“Blake has attempted to steer away from the “problematic” “sad boy” label which he regrets has stigmatised his music ventures.”
Ever since Assume Form (2019), Blake has been heading in an entirely new musical direction. As the 2019 album’s name suggested, Blake was finally beginning to settle on his artistic form. Long gone are the gritty, post-dubstep, underground sounds of earlier days. Blake’s eponymous debut album James Blake (2011) and his second album Overgrown (2013) are exemplary of Blake’s former unique sound.
Recently, however, Blake has attempted to steer away from the “unhealthy” and “problematic” “sad boy” label which he regrets has stigmatised his music ventures; he refuses to resign himself to creating music under this restrictive category. The juxtaposition between the emotional openness of Blake’s lyrics and upbeat electronic sounds in EP Before is symbolic of the new-found sense of freedom which informs his latest musical endeavours.
“Before demonstrates just how far Blake has come in his musical passage to find the sounds most suited to him.”
Blake has even dyed his usually naturally brown tresses peroxide blonde. Clearly, Blake wants the music industry to hear and see him: he no longer wishes to hide behind the elaborate production which characterised his first two albums. Blake, instead, chooses to emphasise his melodic vocals using energetic beats. The dance-style tracks allow Blake’s voice and lyricism to really shine. Before is far from the bare, almost barren, balladry of The Colour in Anything (2016). The EP demonstrates just how far Blake has come in his musical passage to find the sounds most suited to him. This new sound is an amalgamation of emotional lyricism that we heard in The Colour of Anything and, later, Assume Form, alongside Blake’s love for electronic music, exemplified by his first two albums.
‘I Keep Calling’
Echoing the dance club-inspired Assume Form, Before ushers in the entrance of an increasingly self-assured Blake with a symbiosis of romantic ballads overlaying upbeat dance synths. James Blake recently stated that his new EP was a project where he “finally had the confidence to put [his] own voice on dancefloor rhythms”. The four tracks reflect this vision of an unmediated and empowered Blake – a vision which is most vividly reflected in the first track ‘I Keep Calling’, where Blake refuses to allow his emotional expression to be associated with “sadness”. Blake opens the track on a sensitive note (“I keep calling your heart / Oh, let it ring / If I’m falling too hard”), which is shortly followed by high-pitched sounds that welcome in the euphoric high-tempo synths that form a backdrop to the chorus (“I keep calling her heart / Keep calling her heart”). The chorus represents optimism and hope, as Blake signals his determination and motivation to “keep calling her heart”. The high-pitched vocals soften and transition into an increasingly dream-like sound, as they allow the emotive hook to take centre-stage.
“Blake frames “need[ing]” that someone, and, therefore, vulnerability, as a paradoxical symbol of strength, and release.”
‘Before’
Next, the second track ‘Before’ describes being in the kind of relationship that doesn’t require arduous effort to maintain – instead, Blake tells us that his romantic interest “move[s] [him] naturally”. As the track gradually intensifies, Blake begins to confirm that these feelings have never been felt before in his past (“I’ve never had it as good before”). It’s a track which, like the first song, refutes the image of the passive romantic, and instead frames “need[ing]” that someone, and, therefore, vulnerability, as a paradoxical symbol of strength, and release.
‘Do You Ever’
‘Do You Ever’ is a slower dance track, which contains a multitude of varying vocal sounds which ask, “Do you ever think about me?”. The sound of ‘Do You Ever’ is reminiscent of the disorientating effect created by the high-pitched voices heard in ‘Take a Fall for Me’, featuring RZA, from his second album Overgrown. Blake does not entirely remove himself from his earlier production style – he, instead, re-invents his eclectic sound using up-tempo electronic sounds.
‘Summer of Now’
“‘Summer of Now’ showcases Blake’s prowess at combining his desire to be emotionally open with his love for dancefloor music.”
The final track ‘Summer of Now’ opens in a more sombre mood than the previous songs, with Blake’s haunting, echoing, voice singing “I’m not the sum of all my worries / And I’m not the sum of yours”. The beginning of the song conjures the atmospheric quality of Blake singing in an empty church. But the track does not sustain this solemn mood: a sample of high-pitched vocals join in at “I’m not the summer of 2015 / But I can be the summer of now”, which has the unusual effect of obscuring Blake’s voice at the same time as it emphasises Blake’s defiant and powerful solution to the problems (“I can be the summer of now”).
As the track progresses, the collaboration between the high-pitched vocals and Blake’s unedited voice allows for a more joyous rendition of the lyrics: Blake is no longer alone in proclaiming the sentiments, as he is at the start of the track. ‘Summer of Now’ is a perfect way to close this mature EP: the song ties together the optimism and hopeful message that’s threaded within the previous tracks. ‘Summer of Now’ showcases Blake’s prowess at combining his desire to be emotionally open with his love for dancefloor music.
The Before and After of James Blake
“Before harks back to Blake’s earlier records, but in doing so, he confidently looks to the future style of his new-found groove.”
After toying with different sounds across the years, in Assume Form Blake presented an attempt to reach a final structural form, in terms of musical style. Blake’s EP Before is a continuation of this attempt to assume form, but it’s in this EP where we are finally able to hear a coherent theme running throughout the record – this being the marrying of romantic lyrics and up-tempo beats. As the album name suggests, Before harks back to Blake’s earlier music, but in doing so, he confidently looks to the future style of his new-found groove. In Before, Blake confidently asserts that he can emotionally express himself alongside up-tempo music: and, ultimately, proves that this sound works for him.
Written by Shannon Cook
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