James Blake Square
The most soothing way to ease into your weekend is, quite possibly, James Blake's newest offering, a cover of one of the most classic folk songs of all time. The British producer and singer-songwriter debuted his synth-embellished and rain-spattered cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "Sounds of Silence" on his most recent BBC Radio 1 show Thursday night, and oh what a thing it is to behold.
Turning his synthesizers into futuristic low-fi church organs, Blake's "Sounds of Silence" unfurls like an early evening dream, slowly flowing and then ebbing as the minutes pass. It's contemplative, soothing and deeply, deeply wounded, and was dedicated to a friend of the singer's who passed away last year on New Year's Eve. James Blake also spun tracks from Donny Hathaway, Nina Simone, Irma Thomas and more on his latest residency show, and welcomed Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon into the studio for a kindly, dare we say folksy, conversation. We strongly encourage you to give the entire program a listen. This one goes out to all the late night ponderers out there. This one goes out to the darkness, as well.
