James Blake (musician)
| James Blake | |
|---|---|
James Blake performing at Dockville, Germany, Hamburg, 2012
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | Harmonimix |
| Born | 26 September 1988 [1] Enfield, London, England |
| Genres | Electronic, post-dubstep, soul, experimental, alternative R&B |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, musician, record producer |
| Instruments | Vocals, piano, synthesizer |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Labels | R&S, ATLAS, A&M, Polydor, Universal Republic, Hessle Audio |
| Associated acts | Mount Kimbie, Bon Iver, RZA, Brian Eno, Trim, Chance The Rapper, Drake, Kanye West |
| Website | jamesblakemusic |
| Notable instruments | |
| Moog Taurus | |
James Blake Litherland (born 26 September 1988),[1] known as James Blake, is an English electronic music producer and singer-songwriter from London. He is also known as Harmonimix when releasing remixes. His self-titled debut album was released in the United Kingdom in 2011[2] and nominated for the Mercury Music Prize for that year. His second studio album Overgrown won the Mercury Prize in 2013.[3]
Blake received his first Grammy nomination at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards for Best New Artist.[4] At the 2014 Brit Awards, Blake was nominated for the Brit Award for British Male Solo Artist.[5]
Contents
Career[edit]
Early releases[edit]
Blake began his music career by releasing his debut 12" record, entitled "Air & Lack Thereof" in the United Kingdom during July 2009, while being persistent in recording songs in his bedroom. Having been released on the imprint record label, Hemlock, the extended-play became a favourite of BBC Radio 1 DJ Gilles Peterson.[6] Soon after the release of the record Blake was invited by Peterson to do a special mix on his international show, including an exclusive Mount Kimbie track.[6] During that time, Blake attended Goldsmiths, University of London, where he studied popular music. As his second year composition assignment, he submitted the soon-to-be-released Klavierwerke EP.[7]
A third EP, entitled CMYK, was released through R&S Records during 2010.[8] The title track, "CMYK" was selected by BBC Radio 1 DJ Nick Grimshaw as his Record of the Week[9] and also received airplay from other DJs. On 29 September 2010, Zane Lowe selected Blake's cover version of "Limit to Your Love" as his "Hottest Record in the World". The song was written and originally recorded by Feist and appeared on her studio album, The Reminder. The single was released in the United Kingdom on 28 November 2010,[10] where it debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 47.[11]
2011–12: Self-titled album[edit]
Blake was nominated for the BBC's Sound of 2011, an annual poll that highlights the forthcoming year's likely successful musicians;[12] he was eventually placed second, ahead of fellow shortlisted acts; The Vaccines, Jamie Woon and Clare Maguire. It was also revealed on 15 December 2010 that Blake had been made the runner-up behind singer-songwriter Jessie J at the BRIT Awards' "Critic's Choice".[13] In January 2011, Blake was awarded Single of the Year (2010) for "CMYK" at Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Awards. Blake's work found itself on numerous 2010 year-end best-of lists, with "CMYK" ranking 24th on Frontier Psychiatrist's top 40 songs of the year,[14] the Bells Sketch/CMYK/Klavierwerke EPs ranking 8th on Pitchfork Media's top 50 albums of 2010, and "I Only Know (What I Know Now)" ranking 8th on Pitchfork's top 100 tracks of 2010.[15]
Blake revealed in late December 2010 that his album would be self-titled, and the 11-track James Blake was released on 7 February 2011.[2] Only days after the original announcement was made, the album was leaked onto the internet.[16] On 9 January 2011, "The Wilhelm Scream" was trailed as the album's second single ("Limit To Your Love" was also included on the album).[17] The name Wilhelm scream refers to a sound effect used in numerous movies.[18] In February 2011, James Blake first appeared on the cover of the publication The Fader, in its 72nd issue.[19]
Blake debuted a collaboration with Bon Iver called "Fall Creek Boys Choir" in August 2011 and during the next month, the BBC released an exclusive mix by Blake, which included 10 of his unreleased songs. These included "Deeds", "Olivia Kept", and "Evening Fell Hard for Us". During the final weeks of 2012, James Blake performed three "intimate" shows where he debuted new songs.[20]
2013–14: Overgrown[edit]
Blake announced via Facebook on 7 February 2013 that his second album, Overgrown, would be released on 8 April.[21] The first single from the album, "Retrograde", was debuted the same day on BBC Radio 1, and was released on 11 February. On 25 February, the track listing and album art were revealed[22] and it was confirmed that Brian Eno and RZA would both feature on the album.[22] It was selected as Variance Magazine's Album of the Year as of December 2013.[23]
2015–present: Radio Silence[edit]
In December 2014, during his BBC Radio 1 Residency, Blake announced that his third studio album would be titled Radio Silence and would be released in the first half of 2015.[24][25] He later confirmed that the album would feature Bon Iver and Kanye West, as well as feature guitar work from Connan Mockasin. While the release date has not yet been confirmed, it's expected in the second half of 2015.
Personal life[edit]
James Blake is the son of James Litherland and showed a strong interest and aptitude in music from a young age.[26] He completed primary education at Grange Park Primary School, Winchmore Hill and secondary education at The Latymer School, Edmonton. Later on, he attended Goldsmiths, University of London, where he got a degree in Popular Music.[27]
In a 2013 interview with The Guardian, he revealed that he was in a relationship with Theresa Wayman, guitarist and vocalist of American indie rock group Warpaint;,[28] though the relationship has since ended.[29]
In 2014, he and rapper Chance the Rapper moved into a house in Los Angeles as housemates.[30]
Discography[edit]
Studio albums[edit]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [31] |
AUS [32] |
BEL (Vl) [33] |
BEL (Wa) [34] |
DEN [35] |
IRE [36] |
NL [37] |
NZ [38] |
SWI [39] |
US [40] [41] |
US Dance [42] |
|||||||
| James Blake | 9 | 32 | 1 | 24 | 2 | 11 | 6 | 38 | 9 | 123 | 4 | ||||||
| Overgrown |
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8 | 5 | 12 | 57 | 2 | 24 | 32 | 27 | 16 | 32 | 1 | |||||
| "—" denotes album that did not chart or was not released. | |||||||||||||||||
EPs[edit]
| Title | EP details |
|---|---|
| The Bells Sketch |
|
| CMYK |
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| Klavierwerke |
|
| Enough Thunder[48] |
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| Love What Happened Here |
|
| 200 Press |
|
Singles[edit]
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [31] |
AUT [32] |
BEL (Vl) [33] |
BEL (Wa) [34] |
DEN [35] |
NL [37] |
||||
| 2009 | "Air & Lack Thereof" | — | — | — | — | — | — | non-album single | |
| 2010 | "Limit to Your Love" | 39 | 63 | 5 | 42 | 3 | 7 | James Blake | |
| 2011 | "The Wilhelm Scream" | 136 | — | 64 | 82 | — | — | ||
| "Lindisfarne / Unluck" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Order / Pan" | — | — | — | — | — | — | non-album single | ||
| "Fall Creek Boys Choir" (with Bon Iver) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | Enough Thunder | ||
| "A Case of You" | — | — | 78 | — | — | — | |||
| 2013 | "Retrograde" | 87 | — | 88 | — | 10 | — | Overgrown | |
| "Overgrown" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Life Round Here" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
- as Harmonimix
- 2012: "Confidence Boost"—Harmonimix & Trimbal
- Other songs
- 2014: "0 to 100 / The Catch Up" - Drake feat. James Blake
Remixes[edit]
| Year | Artist | Song | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Untold | "Stop What You're Doing" | James Blake Remix |
| 2010 | Mount Kimbie | "Maybes" | James Blake Remix |
| 2010 | Destiny's Child | "Bills, Bills, Bills" | James Blake Remix |
| 2013 | Mala | "Changes" | Harmonimix Remix |
| 2013 | Drake | "Come Thru" | James Blake Remix |
| 2014 | Beyoncé | "Drunk in Love" | Harmonimix Remix |
Music videos[edit]
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "Limit to Your Love" | Martin de Thurah[49] |
| 2011 | "The Wilhelm Scream" | Alexander Brown[50] |
| "Lindisfarne" | Martin de Thurah[51] | |
| "A Case of You" | Seb Edwards[52] | |
| 2013 | "Retrograde" | Martin de Thurah[53] |
| "Overgrown" | Nabil[54] | |
| "Voyeur" | Tobias Revell and Ferry Gouw[55] | |
| "Life Round Here (feat. Chance The Rapper)" | Nabil[56] |
- as Harmonimix
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | "Confidence Boost (Harmonimix & Trim)" | Rollo Jackson[57] |
Awards and nominations[edit]
On 19 July 2011, Blake was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize 2011 for his self-titled debut album;[3] the award was won by PJ Harvey. However in 2013, he was nominated again for Overgrown, and subsequently won the award, the result being announced on 30 October. The judges at the event described his album as "...late night music for the digital age. An inventive, poignant and poetic record of great beauty."[58][59] He was also nominated for Best New Artist at the 2014 Grammy Awards.
| Year | Organisation | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Worldwide Winners Awards | "CMYK" | Single of the Year | Won |
| 2011 | BBC Sound of 2011 | James Blake | Sound of 2011 | Second place |
| 2011 BRIT Awards | James Blake | Critic's Choice | Nominated | |
| 2011 Mercury Prize | James Blake | Mercury Prize | Nominated | |
| Q Awards | James Blake | Breakthrough Artist | Nominated | |
| 2012 | Ivor Novello Awards | "The Wilhelm Scream" | Best Contemporary Song | Nominated |
| 2012 BRIT Awards | James Blake | British Male Solo Artist | Nominated | |
| 2012 MTV Video Music Awards Japan | "Limit to Your Love" | Best New Artist | Nominated | |
| Best Dance Video | Nominated | |||
| 2013 | 2013 Mercury Prize | Overgrown | Mercury Prize | Won |
| 2013 UK Music Video Awards | "Overgrown" | Best Alternative Video | Nominated | |
| "Retrograde" | Best Colour Grade In a Video | Nominated | ||
| 2014 | 56th Grammy Awards | James Blake | Best New Artist | Nominated |
| 2014 BRIT Awards | James Blake | British Male Solo Artist | Nominated | |
| mtvU Woodie Awards | "Life Round Here" | Best Collaboration Woodie (shared with Chance the Rapper) | Nominated | |
| Music Producers Guild Awards | Overgrown | UK Album of the Year (sponsored by Universal Audio) | Nominated | |
| 2014 World Music Awards | James Blake | World's Best Male Artist | Nominated | |
| World's Best Live Act | Nominated | |||
| World's Best Entertainer | Nominated | |||
| Ivor Novello Awards | "Retrograde" | Best Contemporary Song | Won |
References[edit]
- ^ a b "James Blake on his 23rd Birthday, Limit To Your Love". YouTube. 26 September 2011. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
- ^ a b "James Blake – Album Release Information", Retrieved 2011-01-06
- ^ a b "Ministry of Sound Biography – The IMO Records Blog". Imorecords.co.uk. 2011-11-03. Retrieved 2013-02-18.
- ^ "Grammy Awards 2014: Full Nominations List". Billboard. 7 December 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
- ^ "Brits 2014: Nominations in full". BBC News. Retrieved 19 January 2014
- ^ a b "Radio 1 Programmes - Gilles Peterson, James Blake Live In The Studio". BBC. 2010-05-19. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ^ "Interview: My university experience « The Telegraph". thetelegraph.co.uk. 5 September 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
- ^ ShareTweet. "James Blake – CMYK EP review | Juno Plus". Junodownload.com. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ^ "Music – James Blake". BBC. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ^ "James Blake – Limit To Your Love – Release Date", retrieved 2011-01-06
- ^ "James Blake – Limit To Your Love – Chart Run", retrieved 2011-01-06
- ^ "BBC Sound of 2011 – James Blake Profile", retrieved 2011-01-06
- ^ "The BRIT Awards 2013". Brits.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-02-18.
- ^ "Frontier Psychiatrist: Top 40 songs of 2010". Frontpsych.com. 2010-12-07. Retrieved 2012-02-05.
- ^ "Top 50 Albums of 2010". Pitchfork. 2010-12-16. Retrieved 2012-02-05.
- ^ "Leaked: James Blake - James Blake". Jpsblog.net. Retrieved 2012-02-05.
- ^ "The Wilhelm Scream revealed as second single". One Thing. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
- ^ Mayer Nissim (6 March 2011). "James Blake: 'The Wilhelm Scream'". Digital Spy. digitalspy.co.uk. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
- ^ "World Premiere! The FADER Issue #72: Wiz Khalifa, James Blake and Casely-Hayford". The FADER. 2011-02-17. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
- ^ "Watch James Blake Play Two New Songs – Pitchfork". Pitchfork. 2012-12-05. Retrieved 2012-12-08.
- ^ "My new album...". James Blake. 2013-02-07. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
- ^ a b Blake, James. "Brian Eno, RZA Guest on New James Blake Album". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
- ^ The Top 25 Albums of the Year 2013
- ^ "James Blake announces new album title". Pitchfork. 2015-01-13. Retrieved 2015-01-13.
- ^ "James Blake says new album out in about five months". Pitchfork. 2014-11-23. Retrieved 2015-01-13.
- ^ "James Blake Re-Conquers The BBC, Covers His Dad and Joni Mitchell « The FADER". Thefader.com. 11 February 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
- ^ Edwards, Rhiannon (5 September 2013). "Interview: My university experience « The Telegraph". Thetelegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
- ^ Lamont, Tom (7 April 2013). "James Blake Interview". The Guardian (London).
- ^ http://www.gq.com/entertainment/music/201502/james-blake
- ^ "Chance The Rapper shares selfie with new housemate James Blake". nme.com. 4 February 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
- ^ a b Peak positions in the United Kingdom:
- For all except where noted: "James Blake > UK Charts". officialcharts.com/ Official Charts Company.
- For "The Wilhelm Scream": "New Chart Entries > February 19, 2011". Zobbel.de. 2011-02-19.
- For "Retrograde": "New Chart Entries > February 19, 2013". Zobbel.de. 2011-02-19.
- ^ a b "James Blake > Australian Charts".
- ^ a b "James Blake > Belgium Flanders Charts". www.ultratop.be/nl/.
- ^ a b "James Blake > Belgium Wallonia Charts". www.ultratop.be/fr/.
- ^ a b "James Blake > Danish Charts". danishcharts.com/.
- ^ "James Blake - Music Charts". Acharts.us. 2012-02-05.
- ^ a b "James Blake > Dutch Charts". dutchcharts.com/.
- ^ "James Blake > News Zealand Charts". http://charts.org.nz.
- ^ "James Blake > Swiss Charts". hitparade.ch/.
- ^ "James Blake > Billboard 200 Charts". www.billboard.com/.
- ^ "News - James Blake at the Music Box". Dubstepswag.com. 2012-02-05.
- ^ "Dance/Electronic Albums". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
- ^ "iTunes - Music - James Blake by James Blake". Itunes.apple.com. 2011-02-04. Retrieved 2012-02-05.
- ^ a b "Certified Awards Search" (To access, enter the keyword "James Blake" and check the 'Exact match' checkbox). British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ^ a b c "SØG". Ifpi.dk.
- ^ "iTunes - Music - Overgrown (Deluxe Version) by James Blake". Itunes.apple.com. 2013-03-08. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
- ^ "James Blake - The Bells Sketch - EP". Factmag.com. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
- ^ "James Blake Reveals Enough Thunder". Pitchfork. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
- ^ "James Blake 'Limit to Your Love' - Music Video". GORILLA VS. BEAR. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
- ^ "James Blake 'The Wilhelm Scream' - Music Video". YouTube. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
- ^ "James Blake 'Lindesfarne' - Music Video". Stereogum. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
- ^ "Watch the New James Blake Video". Pitchfork. 19 December 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-22.
- ^ "James Blake 'Retrograde'". YouTube. Retrieved 2013-02-12.
- ^ "James Blake : Overgrown". YouTube. Retrieved 2013-09-07.
- ^ "James Blake//Voyeur". YouTube. Retrieved 2013-09-07.
- ^ "James Blake Feat. Chance The Rapper "Life Round Here" (Official Video)". YouTube. Retrieved 2013-10-19.
- ^ "Video Confidence Boost". beatMashers. Retrieved 2012-09-25.
- ^ "Mercury Prize 2013: The nominees « BBC News". bbc.co.uk. 11 September 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
- ^ James Blake wins Mercury music prize for album Overgrown | Music | The Guardian
External links[edit]
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to James Blake (musician). |
| Preceded by Marina and the Diamonds |
Sound of... Runner-up 2011 |
Succeeded by Frank Ocean |
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- 1988 births
- A&M Records artists
- Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London
- Dubstep musicians
- English electronic musicians
- English male singers
- English record producers
- English singer-songwriters
- Living people
- People educated at The Latymer School
- People from Enfield (London borough)
- Polydor Records artists
- Post-dubstep musicians
- Singers from London