Just hours after he debuted three songs on Annie Mac‘s BBC Radio 1 show, James Blake has now shared his long, long, LONG awaited album, The Colour In Anything. That’s right, it’s finally here!
Consisting of 17 tracks, Blake described the album as a “journey.” As Fact Mag pointed out, Blake revealed in a new interview with The Guardian that he pushed back his intended release date so as to not clash with the queen herself, Beyoncé and her recent masterpiece, LEMONADE (which Blake features on).
The album was recorded in a variety of locations throughout England as well as in Rick Rubin‘s Shangri La studio in Malibu.
Although Kanye West had long been rumoured to appear on the album, a new Pitchfork interview details how that never eventuated. “Something was supposed to happen; I don’t really know how to describe how that didn’t work out. I wanted Kanye to be on the song “Timeless,” but the verse didn’t materialize. I think a huge swath of things happened in his life, and I just stayed out of it. Eventually, the mood of the album changed, and in the end I don’t think it would have fit. But I didn’t say I was working with Kanye just so people would get interested—I really wanted him to be on it.”
The album does however include features from Bon Iver and apparently Connan Mockasin, however only Bon Iver appears in the officially listed credits. He has also mentioned that the single biggest influence on the album was one Frank Ocean. Blake went on to assure fans that Ocean’s album will be worth the wait: “He is onto something, he really is.”
James Blake is set to make his return to Australia later this year for Splendour In The Grass, as well as a handful of sideshows. Judging from the stunning sound of this album, we are in for something very beautiful indeed.
Image: Fact