Shout out to Shota’s iPod for putting us on to this one. Young London-based producer James Blake gives an interesting spin to the whole post-dubstep/future beats thing on CMYK. He’s able to chop up samples from 90’s r&b jams (namely from Kelis and Aaliyah) then reconstruct, tweak and re-arrange them in a way that is almost unrecognizable, while still managing to let the emotion seep through. See what I mean on the title track “CMYK.” There is also ample glitch and twitchiness, plus deep, lush chords that help create his unique, futuristic sound. An emotive, melodic vibe is consistent throughout, but each track is distinctly its own – like the creeping “Footnotes” (that introduces the vocoder), “I’ll Stay” with its stuttering vocals, and the slumpy swing of “Postpone.” Look out for this dude. Recommended.

• clear splatter colored vinyl
• music label: R&S 2022

reviewed by Von Bee