About James Blake
James Blake Litherland is an English singer, songwriter, and record producer. He first gained recognition following the release of three extended plays—The Bells Sketch, CMYK and Klavierwerke—in 2010. He signed with A&M Records to release his self-titled debut album the following year, which was met with critical praise and peaked within the top ten of the UK Albums Chart.
Blake departed A&M in favour of sister label Republic Records, on which he released his second album, Overgrown to further critical and commercial success; it likewise peaked within the chart's top ten and moderately entered the US Billboard 200. His third album, The Colour in Anything , was followed by his 2018 single "King's Dead" , which peaked at number 50 on the UK Singles Chart and number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100. Its success foresaw the release of his fourth album, Assume Form , which became his highest-charting entry on both the UK Albums Chart and Billboard 200. His fifth and sixth albums, Friends That Break Your Heart and Playing Robots Into Heaven , followed thereafter.
Along with recording, Blake has done songwriting and production work for other artists. Often doing so with Oneohtrix Point Never, Dominic Maker, Justin Vernon or his partner Jameela Jamil, Blake has been credited on releases for Jay-Z, Kanye West, Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Frank Ocean, Rosalía, Strick, JID, Travis Scott, Normani, and Lil Yachty. He has won a Mercury Prize from two nominations, two Grammy Awards from nine nominations, a Latin Grammy Award, and three Brit Award nominations.
Blake is the only child of musician James Litherland and Helen Litherland, and showed an 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. He went on to 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.
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. 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.
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