so far this year, no artist has gotten more hype than james blake. he is on basically every list of 2011 up-and-comers. everybody from kcrw to the bbc seems to be completely enamored of him. so when i went the emusic to check things out, i was expecting something relatively accessible. something unique and cool sounding, but also palatable to a reasonably general audience. what i heard instead was actually unlike anything i’d ever heard before. i still don’t really even know how to describe it. at its most basic it’s probably dubstep, but it’s layered with these quasi melodies and crazy harmonies that sound more like zapped out R&B. it’s awesome but it’s totally avant garde. and to be honest, i can’t believe that so many major media outlets are lining up to love this. i mean, it’s easy for me to love, i don’t have to market this madness. but even if you’re a jaded exec you can’t really deny there’s something pretty brilliant happening here, and all i can say is ups to the big boys for having the grapes to get behind it. -d