James Blake鈥檚 post-pandemic album finds clarity in chaos
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In a year where every interaction came with a risk, people across the world were forced to reassess relationships. Grammy-winning recording artist and producer James Blake was no different.
鈥淚 could see around me that it wasn鈥檛 only me who was reevaluating friendships,鈥 said Blake. 鈥淗aving to reevaluate, 鈥楬ow many people do we need in our lives? Do I need this thought process anymore? What鈥檚 my purpose outside of this rat race?鈥欌
These reflections steadily gave him inspiration as he created music that strayed from traditional love songs: tracks that touch on heartbreak, complacency, comparison and hope.
鈥淭he subject matter of the songs about heartbreak were usually about friendship,鈥 said Blake.
His fifth studio album 鈥淔riends That Break Your Heart鈥 was born.
Blake released singles from the album, starting with 鈥淪ay What You Will鈥 in July 2021. The song was accompanied by a music video featuring producer Finneas. In the video, Blake constantly finds himself in the shadow of Billie Eilish鈥檚 brother, starting at the Grammys, where Blake holds his single trophy while Finneas descends the stairs with his arms full of them.
Though Blake has worked with artists from Frank Ocean and Kendrick Lamar to Beyonc茅, he believes this feeling of comparison is universal.
鈥淓veryone, regardless of how successful you are, has someone like that, and we all are vulnerable to that feeling of comparison and am I good enough?鈥 said Blake. 鈥淲e鈥檙e constantly being reminded via Instagram of everybody鈥檚 success, so you almost have to filter your environment and shield yourself from the constant FOMO.鈥
The comedic tone of the music video is something Blake says was his girlfriend, 鈥淭he Good Place鈥 actor Jameela Jamil鈥檚 idea.
鈥淪he鈥檚 very comedic,鈥 said Blake. 鈥淏ut traditionally my videos aren鈥檛 funny 鈥 they鈥檙e sort of heavy and emotional or abstract and I wasn鈥檛 sure if I could pull it off.鈥
The pandemic not only changed the way Blake was thinking, but in a more practical sense, the way he created the album.
鈥淭he kind of team I had around me was very small and tight-knit and just close to me, close friends 鈥 not ones that broke my heart,鈥 he said.
Blake does a mixture of studio and at-home production, admitting that staying home is often the cheaper option for musicians.
鈥淚 feel like I give enough of my royalties away and enough of my money goes back into the music I make,鈥 said Blake. 鈥淚 guess, a lot of us (musicians) just feel like, 鈥榃ell, let鈥檚 invest in ourselves if we can鈥檛 get better record deals and we can鈥檛 get better streaming royalties... let鈥檚 just try and at least make the (expletive) record for free.鈥欌
Blake feels lucky that he鈥檚 already toured for 10 years, unlike some who were hit hard by the pandemic鈥檚 halt of touring. All the musicians he knows are struggling.
鈥淭hey might have been lucky enough to get on the property ladder and then the pandemic happened and they can鈥檛 pay for it,鈥 said Blake. 鈥淎 lot of people in the touring business as well were left with no purpose or income.鈥
This contrasts to a conversation he had at a record label, where he was told they were doing 鈥渂etter than ever.鈥
鈥淲e know that there鈥檚 a big imbalance in kind of who鈥檚 making the money, and live touring, it does slightly address that balance,鈥 said Blake. 鈥淪o I hope that some of those musicians, some of those people in the industry, they get back on their feet and understand I鈥檓 just rooting for them.鈥
Blake himself is excited to get back on the road. And even though the pace of society is beginning to pick back up, he hopes people will slow down enough to spend time with the 12 tracks on his album, featuring artists like SZA, JID and SwaVay.
鈥淚 think the way I would like people to hear it is that they at least cut out a section of time in the day to give it the attention that any album deserves,鈥 said Blake. 鈥淲e live in a fairly online world, so it鈥檚 like, 鈥極K, unless I actually create an hour in my life to sit down and listen to this thing and only do that, it鈥檚 going to be difficult to actually take it in.鈥欌
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