So, James Blake has just released a cover of Simon and Garfunkel‘s Sound of Silence.
I’m the first to admit that I am not really a Simon and Garfunkel fan. I don’t know, I just never gave it the attention I probably should have.
But, I really really like James Blake. So when I heard his latest BBC Radio 1 Residency – and then heard that he’d pulled in Bon Iver‘s Justin Vernon – and then heard that he rounded off the show with the Sound of Silence cover, I paid very close attention.
The track was performed in tribute to a friend of Blake’s, who passed away on New Years Eve. I’ve now listened to it on repeat maybe seven, eight times. Shivers down my spine. Those harmonies, the organ, the tone. It’s divine.
This is just really beautiful, whether you like the original or not shouldn’t matter. Us music reviewers throw words like “haunting” and “spine-tingling” around like nobody’s business, and I try to avoid the terms wherever possible, but my spine is actually tingling right now.
The entire BBC Radio 1 show is, as always, a really interesting and insightful listen. You can stream the whole thing right here.