James Blake

James Blake Litherland (born 26 September 1988) is an English singer, songwriter, and record producer.

Blake began his music career by releasing his debut 12" record, Air & Lack Thereof in the United Kingdom during July 2009, while being persistent in recording songs in his bedroom. Having been released on the record label Hemlock, the extended play became a favourite of BBC Radio 1 DJ Gilles Peterson. Soon after the release of the record, Blake was invited by Peterson to do a special mix on his international show, including an exclusive Mount Kimbie track. As a second-year composition assignment for his studies at Goldsmiths, he submitted the Klavierwerke EP which was awarded high marks. A third EP, entitled CMYK, was released through R&S Records during 2010. The title track, "CMYK" was selected by BBC Radio 1 DJ Nick Grimshaw as his Record of the Week and also received airplay from other DJs.

He first gained recognition following the release of three extended plays (EPs)—The Bells Sketch, CMYK and Klavierwerke—in 2010.

On 29 September 2010, Zane Lowe selected Blake's cover version of "Limit to Your Love" as his "Hottest Record in the World".

The song was written and originally recorded by Feist and appeared on her studio album, The Reminder.

The single was released in the United Kingdom on 28 November 2010, where it debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 47.

On 15 December 2010, Blake was runner-up behind singer-songwriter Jessie J at the BRIT Awards' "Critic's Choice".

Blake's work found itself on numerous 2010 year-end best-of lists, with "CMYK" ranking 24th on Frontier Psychiatrist's top 40 songs of the year, the Bells Sketch/CMYK/Klavierwerke EPs ranking 8th on Pitchfork Media's top 50 albums of 2010, and "I Only Know (What I Know Now)" ranking 8th on Pitchfork's top 100 tracks of 2010.

He signed with A&M Records to release his self-titled debut album (2011) the following year, which was met with critical praise and peaked within the top ten of the UK Albums Chart.

Blake was nominated for the BBC's Sound of 2011, an annual poll that highlights the forthcoming year's likely successful musicians.

He placed second ahead of fellow shortlisted acts The Vaccines, Jamie Woon and Clare Maguire.

In January 2011, Blake was awarded Single of the Year (2010) for "CMYK" at Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Awards.

Blake revealed in late December 2010 that his album would be self-titled, and the 11-track James Blake was released on 7 February 2011.

Only days after the original announcement was made, the album was leaked onto the internet.

On 9 January 2011, "The Wilhelm Scream" was trailed as the album's second single ("Limit To Your Love" was also included on the album).

In February 2011, Blake first appeared on the cover of the publication The Fader, in its 72nd issue.

Blake debuted a collaboration with Bon Iver called "Fall Creek Boys Choir" in August 2011 and during the next month, the BBC released an exclusive mix by Blake, which included 10 of his unreleased songs.

These included "Deeds", "Olivia Kept", and "Evening Fell Hard for Us".

Later that year, Blake released both the Enough Thunder and Love What Happened Here EPs in 2011.

These EPs, noticeably more structured than his previous releases, featured R&B-tinged work as opposed to the experimental electronic style found on CMYK.

During the final weeks of 2012, Blake performed three "intimate" shows where he debuted new songs.

Early in 2012, Blake spent time with American rapper Kanye West (who named Blake as his favourite artist) and singer Justin Vernon.

Later that year, Blake announced a new collaborative non-single release under the moniker Harmonimix with British rapper Trim; the single "Confidence Boost/Saying" was released on 24 September 2012.

Also in 2012, Blake and friends (including Foat, Nick Sigsworth, and touring musicians Rob McAndrews and Ben Assiter) secured a residency at the club Plastic People as the collective 1-800 Dinosaur, hosting a series of impromptu dance nights.

He departed the label in favour of Republic Records, through which he released his second album, Overgrown (2013) to further critical and commercial success; it likewise peaked within the chart's top ten and moderately entered the US Billboard 200.

In summer 2013, the collective launched a label of the same name, on which Blake and other artists released material.

His second album, Overgrown, was released on 5 April 2013.

The first single from the album, "Retrograde", was debuted the same day on BBC Radio 1, and was released on 11 February.

On 25 February, the track listing and album art were revealed.

It was selected as Variance Magazine's Album of the Year as of December 2013.

The album features guest appearances from noted electronic music producer Brian Eno and rapper RZA of Wu-Tang Clan.

The release received critical acclaim and was awarded the 2013 Mercury Prize.

He has won a Mercury Prize from two nominations, two Grammy Awards from nine nominations, including for Best New Artist in 2014; a Latin Grammy Award and nominations for three Brit Awards.

Blake is the only child of musician James Litherland and Helen Litherland, and showed a strong interest and aptitude in music from a young age.

He received classical training in piano as a child, and completed primary education at Grange Park Primary School, Winchmore Hill and secondary education at The Latymer School, Edmonton.

Later on, he attended Goldsmiths, University of London, where he received a degree in Popular Music.

While at university, Blake and friends hosted a series of "Bass Society" music nights that featured UK artists such as Distance, Skream and Benga.

His third album The Colour in Anything (2016) was followed by his fourth, Assume Form (2019), which became his highest-charting release on both charts.

His fifth and sixth albums, Friends That Break Your Heart (2021) and Playing Robots Into Heaven (2023) followed thereafter.

Blake has collaborated with artists throughout his career such as Mount Kimbie, Bon Iver and Metro Boomin, and has been prolific in songwriting and production work for other artists including Jay-Z, Kanye West, Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Vince Staples, Frank Ocean, Rosalía, JID, Dave, and Travis Scott.