“Playing Robots into Heaven” Released September 8th 2023
WHETHER OR NOT YOU LIKE IT, James Blake is continuing to progress music to places it’s never been. His knowledge of production, synthesis, and mixing and editing is virtually unmatched. The multifaceted artist pushes genres and welds sounds together to sprawl across the universe of music. And his latest album, “Playing Robots into Heaven” is proof that he is steady in his ways.
I really only got into James Blake after his album “Friends That Break Your Heart” in 2021. But that being said, he hasn’t been at the forefront of my music choices on a day to day basis. Yet every time I put him on, I do not stop until ive reached my destination. He has a way of fitting into your routine as if your brain is connected to his music. Whether it’s his Sampha-esk vocal fry, or his unique electronic blend of sounds, he just seems to be doing what others can only dream of.
His new album “Playing Robots into Heaven” is a diverse soundscape to say the least. With songs that start with light vocals and simple melodies to harder hitting house beats and almost the dubstep tempos we were used to in his early days. But by song two, “Loading”, were imagining ourselves on a strobe-clad dancefloor surrounded by hundreds of people with their eyes closed. “Tell me” continues this theme with a synth heavy lead line that reminds us of Darud’s “Sandstorm”
The album continues with more unique drums and samples prompting our brains to think about his ways of production. He builds beats out of sounds with reverb and delays, then the underlying side-chain pumps its way into your body as you roll with each song. “Hes Been Wonderful” has a hip hop bounce to it that almost makes you think of when Flume teams up with a rapper. Then “Big Hammer” follows with a full on banger of a beat with unreal vocals over a trap beat.
This whole album moves perfectly as a live set would. And he would be foolish to not just plug in an Ipod and let it rip through the whole album at his next show. Its curated in a way that a concept album should. 11 songs. All perfectly laid out for your listening. Just the right amount of synth and space, and the perfect balance of techno and electronic beats to make you forget about what you were just thinking about.
I highly recommend this album to all electronic music and synthesis lovers. And if you haven’t gotten close with James Blake, this would be a great way to get your relationship started.