James Blake is probably one of the most underappreciated artists in EDM; and sort of predictably so, as his music doesn’t fit the typical festival archetype of electronic music. Making use of his phenomenal voice and often producing very mellow, melodic songs doesn’t get you fist-pumping at a club in the middle of the night. However, the electronic elements he layers on top of his songs give them a wonderful new life.
Now, at the end of the year, he’s released his hotly anticipated Covers EP.
The singer has shared covers of Frank Ocean’s “Godspeed, Billie Eilish’s “when the party’s over,” Joy Division’s “Atmosphere,” Stevie Wonder’s “Never Dreamed You’d Leave in Summer,” a segment from Beyoncé’s “OTHERSIDE,” and Roberta Flack’s “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.”
“Doing these covers and live performances has kept me going this year…” said Blake as he announced the EP on social media. “I chose to record a few in the studio and it turned into this EP.”
“It’s been a joy to discover new music and new ways of playing songs I’ve already heard,” he says of his inspiration to create this EP.
Listen below.