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Live Review: WATCH: James Blake Live Performance For KEXP, Seattle

22 May 2013 | 6:54 pm | Staff Writer

This week James Blake performed live on the Seattle radio station KEXP in an intimate, studio performance that showcased his soulful and rich musicianship.

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He remains a man of mystery, JAMES BLAKE doesn’t say much or explain his critical success but has some interesting things to say on the music industry. This week he performed live on the Seattle radio station KEXP in an intimate, studio performance that showcased his soulful voice and rich musicianship.

His complex music is stripped back into a pure listening experience – keeping the emphasis on live instrumentals and drawing out the mmhhhhhm intro to ‘Retrogade’ (even to the surprise of his guitarist Rob McAndrews and drummer Ben Assiter).

Thankfully JAMES BLAKE plans on sticking with his unique song craft. “I still haven’t arrived at the place where I want to write commercial pop songs” –but you have to admit, they settle in the mind. Whispering into the mic, BLAKE warms up later on into the interview and brings great soul into his top tracks off: ‘Overgrown’, ‘To the Last’ and (with a small smile acknowledging he knows it’s the one that got him the most airplay) ‘Retrogade’.

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He also performs the much-loved ‘The Wilhelm Scream’ and gives us a chance to see how his complex tracks unfold in a live setting. In between, we hear how the world of dance music moves in weeks (the internet, even less) and rightly so, for James Blake “It just felt like a complete world of extremes for the last few years.”

If you’re off to Splendour this year, it’s a sneak peek of what he will put on show – just stripped back. Headphones on. Indulge in the Blake.

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