By no means is this artist new. He has been around for years doing his own work and then mixing some fly ass tunes for other artists under the name Harmonimix. So…yea he isn’t new…I’m just old… and slow and so when I first heard of James Blake, about a month ago, he was a revelation.
Number one…the guy can sing. Like..SANG-sing. The genre is post-dub step. So it is minimal and sparse in terms of the actual singing….and you would have to have a general like of electronic music…but the sounds…Jesus Christ! I don’t know. My vocabulary is inadequate. Listen to Blake’s, “The Wilhelm Scream,” and try to explain it beyond: haunting.
It has been a long time since I have heard truly artistic music. Music that is meant to make me feel and think. Music that is an expression beyond the commercial demands of the masses. Music, I think, was actually joyfully/painfully made. Upon hearing Blake’s, “The Wilhelm Scream,” I promptly bought the entire album, hoping, that the expectation I had built up around what I had just heard would be met in the other cuts. It was. I was immediately addicted. Blake’s “Unluck” with the incessant, almost schizophrenic tapping made my heart race. It was like Blake knew and could sing/produce sounds that mimicked that crazy sort of pressure only ourselves can but on ourselves…It was heart racing fear/panic/imminent danger while still appearing controlled….but falling apart….while spaces are closing in…”Unluck“ is like a refined nightmare in the middle of the day and no one can it see/feel it but you. I love…love that song.
I realize that I connect to Blake because of where I am now. There is something inside of me that Soul-understands Blake’s music. I found an artist who meets me. I hope everyone finds that someone at least once every 3 months. Shake it up a little! It’s kind of like food…you have to have it.
…If you have never heard of him and want to explore Blake…go and check him out. His work deserves to be heard. You might like him. You might not. But I dare you to tell me, that amidst all those sounds, James Blake has not founded a genre of music that is irrevocably human.
The Wilhelm Scream:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVgEaDemxjc
Unluck:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yubEmY6ruu8 (about 1 minute in)
For more of my writings go to:
http://www.mfonisoudofia.com/
