James Blake

Influenced by the likes of D’Angelo and Stevie Wonder along with Burial and Mount Kimbie, London-based producer James Blake first gave the world a taste of his quirky, R&B-sampling strain of dubstep in 2009 when his Air & Lack Thereof 12” appeared on the Hemlock label. Blake received quite the endorsement when the heralded Soul Jazz label picked the track up for their Steppas' Delight 2 compilation that same year. Blake raised his profile every few months during 2010 — something of a breakout year for him — with a succession of warmly received 12" releases: The Bells Sketch (Hessle Audio, March), CMYK (R&S, June), Klavierwerke (R&S, October), and the single-sided "Limit to Your Love" (Atlas, November). The last of the series — a cover of a song by Feist, in which Blake's heartfelt vocal was placed front and center — served as a precursor to his first full-length, issued the following February. He returned to Hemlock for July's Order 12", then reverted to Atlas for October's Enough Thunder — a six-track EP with a Bon Iver collaboration and a cover of Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You."