James Blake — James Blake
Released 4th February 2011, Polydor Records
Number 8 on The Edge‘s Top Albums of 2011 list is the self-titled debut album by English dubstep musician James Blake. Released in February, the album peaked at number 9 on the UK Albums Chart and spawned one UK top-40 single.
Statistics:
- Included in the top-ten lists of 15% of contributors
- Of those, 75% ranked the album in their top three
- Ranked the album of the year by one contributor
Review by Taliesin Davies, reader (ranked the album #1):
James Blake made a splash at the beginning of 2011 with his cover of Feist’s ‘Limit to Your Love’, which replaced the original’s lavish string section with thumping drums and atonal sub-bass, and was quickly heralded as the future of dubstep. This is inaccurate, however, as he merely sounds like the future. This is music you cannot imagine being made at any other time, despite the numerous and vast influences. The range and depth of innovations is astonishing, from the pretty piano balladry of ‘Give Me My Month’ to the grinding futuristic soul of ‘The Wilhelm Scream’ and the electronic gospel of ‘Measurements’. A truly bewitching debut.
Other accolades:
- Ranked #1 on The Telegraph‘s “Top 10 Albums of 2011” list
- Ranked #6 on The Guardian‘s “Albums of 2011” list
- Ranked #9 on Billboard magazine’s “10 Best Albums of 2011” list
James Blake — ‘Limit to Your Love’:
1 Comment
I thoroughly enjoyed this album. Limit to Your Love and The Wilhelm Scream were the only ones that really got any airplay on the radio, but if anything there are more gems on the rest of the album. Well deserved from an artist who was shortlisted for Radio 1’s Sound of 2011 shortlist.