James Blake's eponymous debut is already well on its way to being one of this year's essential albums. Although a tad too 'leftfield' to receive much in the way of radio airplay here in Ireland, it's gonna be interesting to see what impact his mesmering post-dub soundscapes have on the music world this year.
New single 'The Wilhelm Scream' now comes flanked by this visual delight:
Tips for 2011 are flying left, right and centre at the moment but, by virtue of the fact that the BBC's 'Sound of...' list compiles the predictions of over 150 music gurus across the UK, it's inevitably going to hold a bit more weight.
The past few years, the lists have been dominated by female-fronted acts, with Adele, Duffy, Florence and the Machine, Ellie Goulding, La Roux and Marina & The Diamonds all placing in the upper reaches. As such, it's refreshing to see so many great male artists in this year's shortlist.
Jai Paul and James Blake are two acts that I've posted about in the past and, with the right break, could conceivably convert their blogospheric hype to mainstream success.
Another act who, like both Jai Paul and James Blake, teams neo-soul vocals with electronic and post-dub arrangements is Jamie Woon. But whereas James Blake started out a more leftfield artist and has now begun embracing conventional song structures, Jamie Woon began as a singer-songwriter before gradually turning to the dark side.
There are of course the usual crop of indie bands, curveballs in the guise of dubstep-lite act Nero and grime act Wretch 32, and those pesky female fronted outfits.
The wispy Esben and the Witch could be a strong contender for a Top 5 finish, whereas big-voiced Birmingham lass Clare Maguire and spiky power-pop chanteuse Jessie J are also likely to feature in the final reckoning.
The full shortlist is as folows: James Blake, Anna Calvi, Daley, Esben And The Witch, Jessie J, Clare Maguire, Mona, The Naked And Famous, Nero, Jai Paul,The Vaccines, Warpaint, Jamie Woon, Wretch 32 and Yuck.
Press play. There's a handsome white man, walking around an apartment, plagued by gravity-defying fruit. He's crooning Feist's 'Limit To Your Love' against a backdrop of syncopated piano chords. His voice is pleasantly soulful and unmistakably English.
So far, so James Morrison.
But wait. Thirty seconds in, things take a turn for the brilliant.
This is James Blake, a London-based singer and producer. This fusion of indie, neo-soul and elements of dub is one of the best pieces of music I've come across this year, flooring me in the same way that The xx's 'Crystalised' did the first time I heard it.
It's the first track to be released from James's forthcoming album and, based on the unpredictable genre-hopping nature of his previous work, it's going to make for an interesting listen.
James Blake's eponymous debut is already well on its way to being one of this year's essential albums. Although a tad too 'leftfield' to receive much in the way of radio airplay here in Ireland, it's gonna be interesting to see what impact his mesmering post-dub soundscapes have on the music world this year.
