New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Today, GRAMMY Award-winning UK singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer
James Blake has officially released his new EP Before.
Blake joined
Annie Mac on
Radio 1 for "Hottest Record in the World" to premiere the title track, "Before". The 4 track EP is an homage to his London club days, as
Blake returns to his roots on these deep and immersive dancefloor tracks while showcasing the evolution of his music. Before is available everywhere now, via Republic Records/Universal Music.
Released with accompanying visualizers, the EP is the expression of "a yearning for dancefloor elation", a reminder that he has continued to be a DJ and continued to be plugged into underground club culture all this time, but also a statement of "finally having confidence to put my own voice on dancefloor rhythms". Directed by Ryder Ripps, each visual component reflects this sentiment.
In celebration of the release,
Blake is returning to perform his first DJ set on the Boiler Room since 2013. The exclusive set will be broadcast on boilerroom.tv, YouTube and jamesblakemusic.com starting at 10pm BST on Friday, October 16th and will feature material from the new EP project.
Additionally,
Blake recently teamed with
Cadillac for an exclusive first-listen experience to help introduce the 2021 Escalade. To help showcase the all-new 36-speaker AKG Studio Reference audio system, some of his lucky fans were treated to a ride in the brand-new vehicle where they had the chance to be the very first to listen to the new EP, Before. When the fans arrived at their destination, they were surprised by an intimate (and Covid compliant) performance by Blake, the first time he has performed in front of fans in months.
Before follows the release of his widely popular cover of Frank Ocean's "Godspeed," which generated over 5 million views on TikTok and sparked high praise from fans and press alike, with Hypebeast noting, "He exudes his ghostly vocals throughout, layering his soul-inflecting delivery over the skeletal piano chords." Prior to that,
Blake released "Are You Even Real?" which has already accumulated 7.2 million Spotify streams since release. In addition to plugs from Pitchfork and more, Consequence of Sound described it as "captivating," and NME dubbed the music video "mind-bending."
BEFORE - EP TRACKLISTING:
I Keep Calling
Before
Do You Ever?
Summer Of Now
BEFORE - EP VISUALIZERS:
I Keep Calling
Before (Official Quarantine Video)
Do You Ever?
Summer Of Now
The GRAMMY Award-winning UK singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer unassumingly operates as the enigmatic engine behind some of the most influential albums of the 21st century. He produced choice cuts on Frank Ocean's Blonde and Kendrick Lamar's DAMN. as well as JAY-Z's 4:44 and Beyoncé's Lemonade—to which he also lent his voice in both cases. Feature appearances span "Stop Trying to Be God" with
Stevie Wonder and
Kid Cudi on
Travis Scott's epic ASTROWORLD and "
King's Dead" with Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, and
Future from the chart-dominating
Black Panther: The Album. The latter not only went triple-platinum, but it also earned
Blake his first GRAMMY® Award in the category of "Best Rap Performance."
Simultaneously, he emerged as pop's most celebrated outlier with his dynamic solo output. He introduced a singular sound on 2011's
James Blake. Awarding the record a rare 9.0-out-of-10 score, Pitchfork crowned it one of "Top 100 Albums of the Decade So Far (2010-2014)." On its heels, the 2013 Overgrown illustrated his rare magnetic ability to align the likes of Brian Eno and RZA on the same project. It notably received the 2013 Mercury Prize and secured Blake's "Best New Artist" nomination at the GRAMMY® Awards. After 2016's The Colour In Anything, he reached new critical and commercial peaks with Assume Form during 2019. It bowed at #21 on the Billboard Top 200, marking his highest entry to date. Beyond clocking 300 million cumulative streams in under a year, it garnered the GRAMMY® nomination for "Best Alternative Album" and graced "Best of 2019" lists for outlets including Time Magazine, Harper's Bazaar, Stereogum, Consequence of Sound, Billboard, DJ Booth, and Esquire. Additionally, he oversees 1-800 Dinosaur, which spans a club night, record label, and radio show.
As he prepares his fifth album,
James Blake's shadow over popular music only continues to grow.
