An intro: Pretentious Music Corner is my new blog series that will highlight my favorites in relatively new independent music. This will cover dubstep, indie rock, a little folk, electro, indie dance, and whatever else. Each post I'll cover a different artist/band. Feel free to shit on my opinions as I'm just another pretentious hipster.
James Blake is a young dubstep/electronica producer based out of London. He first caught the eye of critics with his series of 2010 EP's. Notable among these are the Klavierwerke and CMYK EP's, released on R&S Recordings. His style of dubstep is soft and grooveable, but not quite dancefloor worthy. Great to turn on in the background when you want to bob your head and be at peace. This year (2011), Blake released a self-titled album. He's also the son of James Litherland.
Note: Blake's vision of dubstep is British. That means it's defined by its beat structure. Not by its drops, use of wobble bass, or sampling of rap.
The Wilhelm Scream- The lead single off his self titled album. Chilling vocals lifted from a record his father made. Beautiful groove. Not quite dubstep, but the beat is viral.
Limit To Your Love- This Feist cover shows James Blake on some really brooding background beats, using his voice pretty heavily.
CMYK- An older production of his. More focused on the dubstep sound.
LOL, I was literally planning to make a blog about this a few days ago because i've been listening to him for a week strait. Reaaaallly good & smart stuff.
I've only listened to his LP though; how do the EPs compare?
On April 05 2011 13:51 DivinO wrote:Great to turn on in the background when you want to bob your head and be at peace.
I completely disagree with this. This is not ambient music or post-rock - definitely not background music as there's far too much going on to digest it subconsciously.
On April 05 2011 14:00 Renoir_scII wrote: LOL, I was literally planning to make a blog about this a few days ago because i've been listening to him for a week strait. Reaaaallly good & smart stuff.
I've only listened to his LP though; how do the EPs compare?
On April 05 2011 13:51 DivinO wrote:Great to turn on in the background when you want to bob your head and be at peace.
I completely disagree with this. This is not ambient music or post-rock - definitely not background music as there's far too much going on to digest it subconsciously.
I disagree. I think it's more for chill background music as well. I don't want to think or digest it as you say while I listen to music. Don't you wonder how those chart-toppers become chart-toppers? Good beat, catchy chorus, doesn't matter how intuitive the sound/lyrics are, the majority of people just want to have a good time. Notice how I say majority, you are obviously different.
On April 05 2011 14:00 Renoir_scII wrote: LOL, I was literally planning to make a blog about this a few days ago because i've been listening to him for a week strait. Reaaaallly good & smart stuff.
I've only listened to his LP though; how do the EPs compare?
On April 05 2011 13:51 DivinO wrote:Great to turn on in the background when you want to bob your head and be at peace.
I completely disagree with this. This is not ambient music or post-rock - definitely not background music as there's far too much going on to digest it subconsciously.
I think you're right in that it's a lot of fun to digest, but I mean that when I play StarCraft or something I can have it on and it'll keep me calm.
Sorry to have possibly offended you, you're right in that it's very smart music with a lot of substance.
I think his EPs are so much better than his new release. But I like all his stuff. I'd love to see him collaborate with Burial or Four Tet or Scuba or something.
On April 05 2011 14:00 Renoir_scII wrote: LOL, I was literally planning to make a blog about this a few days ago because i've been listening to him for a week strait. Reaaaallly good & smart stuff.
I've only listened to his LP though; how do the EPs compare?
On April 05 2011 13:51 DivinO wrote:Great to turn on in the background when you want to bob your head and be at peace.
I completely disagree with this. This is not ambient music or post-rock - definitely not background music as there's far too much going on to digest it subconsciously.
I think you're right in that it's a lot of fun to digest, but I mean that when I play StarCraft or something I can have it on and it'll keep me calm.
Sorry to have possibly offended you, you're right in that it's very smart music with a lot of substance.
No no, no offense. Sorry I guess me saying 'I completely disagree with this' came off really strong. Haha, i'm just too tired and not thinking right and my heads not quite on straight. It definitely does work extremely well as background music too and I have been having it on in the background just like you when playing Starcraft .
On April 05 2011 14:00 Renoir_scII wrote: LOL, I was literally planning to make a blog about this a few days ago because i've been listening to him for a week strait. Reaaaallly good & smart stuff.
I've only listened to his LP though; how do the EPs compare?
On April 05 2011 13:51 DivinO wrote:Great to turn on in the background when you want to bob your head and be at peace.
I completely disagree with this. This is not ambient music or post-rock - definitely not background music as there's far too much going on to digest it subconsciously.
I think you're right in that it's a lot of fun to digest, but I mean that when I play StarCraft or something I can have it on and it'll keep me calm.
Sorry to have possibly offended you, you're right in that it's very smart music with a lot of substance.
No no, no offense. Sorry I guess me saying 'I completely disagree with this' came off really strong. Haha, i'm just too tired and not thinking right and my heads not quite on straight. It definitely does work extremely well as background music too and I have been having it on in the background just like you when playing Starcraft .
Anyways, tell me about the EPs!
The EP's have more of a raw sound. That is they're more dubsteppy and less... mellow. if that means anything. Definitely worth a check. They're definitely more genre oriented and less exploratory.
Whether or not you approach listening to James Blake's debut album in an active or passive way, the samples and beats he utilizes in his tracks are simply superb. The fact that people from varying backgrounds can appreciate him in different ways shows how far he is pushing the UK dubstep sound. As much as I love the filthier and grimier stuff, it's nice to see some chill and ambient beats get some appreciation.
Blake's album is nowhere near close to Burial's debut by any means, but it's sick good and I can see more people being receptive to Blake and being more open to dubstep as a whole.
Have you listened to 2562's new album yet? Sick good dubstep artist from the Netherlands who is also pushing the dubstep sound into different directions. You can check a free sample recording of the album here :D
On April 05 2011 16:12 joomanjii wrote: Whether or not you approach listening to James Blake's debut album in an active or passive way, the samples and beats he utilizes in his tracks are simply superb. The fact that people from varying backgrounds can appreciate him in different ways shows how far he is pushing the UK dubstep sound. As much as I love the filthier and grimier stuff, it's nice to see some chill and ambient beats get some appreciation.
Blake's album is nowhere near close to Burial's debut by any means, but it's sick good and I can see more people being receptive to Blake and being more open to dubstep as a whole.
Have you listened to 2562's new album yet? Sick good dubstep artist from the Netherlands.
Man I agree with you so much. I don't even know how to put it.
Burial's opener was sick. Untrue was good too. I can't decide which I like more.
On April 05 2011 14:30 DoctorHelvetica wrote: I think his EPs are so much better than his new release. But I like all his stuff. I'd love to see him collaborate with Burial or Four Tet or Scuba or something.
After Burial's collab with Thom Yorke and Four Tet, I hope he just does his own thing for a while. That album made me want to cry. Or maybe it's Thom Yorke... yeah it's probably Thom Yorke.
On the topic of Burial and dubstep, have you guys checked out Burial's new EP Street Halo yet? I caught his track Stolen Dog on BBC Radio 1 and it's sooooooo good.
Nice! I've been on this bandwagon awhile now. The song from his album called "I Never Learnt To Share" is so good, gives me chills. When i was sitting by myself listening to it the first time, I said aloud "Ohhhhh shiiiiiit" when it picked up towards the end.
BTW, do you ever listen to Dimlite, Flying Lotus, Hudson Mohawke, etc.? These are my favorite styles besides rap/hip hop.
I recently discovered this guy and I quite enjoy his stuff.
this along with cmyk are amongst my favourites.
he kind off reminds me of Eskmo altho they aren't really that alike, maybe its because they've got this obsessive style that you can't quite stop listening at first =)
Also, please do continue with the blog, I quite enjoy stuff of the sort.
ok wait, so burial released an ep with stolen dog on it, but his new album is still about to come out?
Basically all of the artists that have been mentioned so far are awesome. This is awesome.
And I would point out that songs like whilhelm scream and CYMK have really different feels, I wouldn't say that "his music is X or Y" because it varies a bit. just like how limit to your love is the middle ground between those two songs.
On April 06 2011 02:16 TheNessman wrote: ok wait, so burial released an ep with stolen dog on it, but his new album is still about to come out?
Basically all of the artists that have been mentioned so far are awesome. This is awesome.
And I would point out that songs like whilhelm scream and CYMK have really different feels, I wouldn't say that "his music is X or Y" because it varies a bit. just like how limit to your love is the middle ground between those two songs.
Um. Burial's EP is out, yes. Stolen Dog. Street Halo. NYC. Called the Street Halo EP.
No one knows if he's actually dropping a new album. I hope he does. I hope Lambeth is on it.
But who can say. I mean Burial's really touchy about his work. He had a DJ Kicks album in the works that !K7 and Kode9 both thought was chill, but he didn't like it and canceled the whole project.
And I agree that CMYK and Wilhelm Scream are two totally different feels. Limit To Your Love is a great take on the Feist original.
EPT
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