08 May 2013 - 1 Comment
Emotionally resonate, beautifully realised. Two years back JAMES BLAKE released one of the best albums of 2011 in his eponymous debut.
With 2013’s Overgrown, the classically trained pianist/post-dubstep auteur surpasses all expectation. From touches of R&B and gospel (see single “Retrograde”) to collaborations with RZA and Brian Eno – Overgrown is a perfect listen. “JAMES BLAKE is a modern master of emotional speculation,” argued Pitchfork – and we agree.
Now just prior to the release of his highly-anticipated sophomore album, UK's James Blake will travel to New Zealand for one special show this August. Fans in Auckland will witness the enchantment of James Blake as he takes to the stage of the Auckland Town Hall after playing Australia's Splendour In The Grass festival in July, performing his brand new follow-up album Overgrown live. His collaborations on this new material casts light on a further evolved Blake, one with fewer boundaries, a richness of depth and newfound intensity.
Blake's 2011 self-titled debut tipped the UK bass culture on its head; down previously unimagined roads of introspection. Including singles 'The Wilhelm Scream' and Fiest cover 'Limit To Your Love', the work earned Blake a Mercury Prize nomination, along with two BRIT award nominations and a #2 on the BBC Sound of 2011 countdown. It saw him travel the globe over, each show met with pin-drop silence for an audience willing to be transported to another world.
The 24 year old Londoner's signature soaring electronics and stunning reinterpretations of dubstep, hip-hop and house are qualities that culminate in latest single 'Retrograde'. Partnered by a dark and deeply pensive video, the track is an electronic soul testament that earmarks Blake as a worthy successor to thrones long since vacated by Massive Attack and Aphex Twin.
Get in quickly: these tickets will go fast.
All tickets on sale 9am, Mon 13 May
FRI 2 AUGUST - AUCKLAND TOWN HALL, AUCKLAND NZ
Tickets from the-edge.co.nz
Visit secret-sounds.com.au for details
jamesblakemusic.com
Tank's stunning debut EP "Dreams" was released in November 2011 to incredible reviews all over the globe. Now New Zealand audiences will get to witness his
own brand of wonderfully textual glitch pop. Combining real instruments with computers to create beautifully ambient and heartfelt landscapes, Tank will be the
perfect musical complement to the soaring and soulful electronics of Blake's Auckland Town Hall show on Friday 2nd August.