English pop-turned-dubstep newcomer James Blake has given a rare live studio performance for the BBC. The songwriter performed three songs from his upcoming eponymous debut album, including his recent hit cover of Feist’s ‘Limit To Your Love’.
The singer has made a name for himself through restraint, opting for absence of sound and often holding back where conventional dubstep artists would try to make an impression through emphasis. He showed his enthusiasm for tailored silence in a recent interview with the BBC: "I was playing a song called Lindisfarne," he recalls of a gig in December. "It starts with a vocoder on its own, unaccompanied, and there were times when I extended the silence slightly, because I was enjoying it so much. Just to hear a whole room of people not talking, with just the thud of the music downstairs bleeding through, is incredible. There was a moment when a man took his jacket off and it was like nails on a chalkboard. To have that control, just through music, of people's emotions, was great. Really good."
The 22-year-old singer recently finished second in the coveted BBC Sound of 2011 poll, regarded by many as a key indicator of the best up-and-coming artists in British music. Despite the accolade, it would appear that Blake is less than assured about his current hype: "When it comes to critical accolades, I really, honestly can't understand what's going on. It's like purgatory - I can't decide whether it's leading to heaven or leading to hell."
You can watch James Blake’s live rendition of ‘The Wilhelm Scream’ below. Two other tracks (‘Lindsfarme’ and ‘Limit To You Love’ are available to watch on the BBC website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/soundof/2011/)
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