James Blake’s charm in a different guise

Now in his mid-thirties, James Blake is nurturing his aura by maintaining his focus on creativity and innovation. Playing Robots Into Heaven, his 6th album released last year of which he played 9 tracks on Tuesday evening, features innovative new arrangements and maintains a high level of quality.

On stage at a sold-out Théâtre Olympia, the English singer, songwriter and producer was tempted to take a leap of faith when he claimed to have given his best performance of the current tour.

Assisted by his teenage friends, guitarist, keyboardist and electro producer Rob McAndrews (who opened the concert) and drummer Ben Assiter, James Blake offers real added value to his recordings. This hasn’t always been the case, and we’ve seen lesser performances since his emergence in the late 2000s.

But these self-taught musicians have grown in stature and cohesion as a band. Surrounded by vintage keyboards and modular synthesizers, Blake and McAndrews have the necessary arsenal for a solid execution of the songs on the program built around the most recent opus, assorted with “classics” from previous albums (homonym, Overgrown, Assume Form, The Colour in Anything, Friends That Break Your Heart), not to mention heartfelt covers by Feist (“Limit to Your Love”), Joni Mitchell (“A Case of You”) and Frank Ocean (“Godspeed”).

James Blake has the sensual, cajoling voice of a charming singer, a performer accustomed to the high frequencies of a countertenor when he uses his head voice, or the low frequencies of a baritone when he chooses to express himself with his body voice. But the artist is more a musician than a stage performer. He never gets up to sing, preferring to stand behind his instruments and briefly address his audience.

Her smooth, textured vocals draw on African-American soul and gospel, as do the harmonic choices of her keyboard playing. So far, these references are nothing special, but they become very interesting when they merge into this synth-pop played in real-time. The electronic components of these songs are generally creative, and it’s easy to notice the new sounds concocted by James Blake. What’s more, these songs are interspersed with electronic sequences traversed by dubstep, UK bass music or even techno, leading to a real immersion in our host’s universe. A successful evening!

And so, we can’t say that he’s an authentic crooner because he doesn’t have the attitude and demeanor to perform in front of an audience. James Blake’s charm exerts itself in other ways.

LIST OF SONGS IN THE PROGRAMME, INCLUDING THE ENCORE

Asking to Break – album Playing Robots Into Heaven

I Want You to Know – Playing Robots Into Heaven

Limit to Your Love – Reprise of Feist, homonymous album

Life Round Here – album Overgrown

Big Hammer – Playing Robots Into Heaven

Loading – Playing Robots Into Heaven

Mile High – album Assume Form

I’ll Come Too – Assume Form

Fire the Editor – Playing Robots Into Heaven

A Case of You (reprise of Joni Mitchell)

Love Me in Whatever Way – album The Colour In Anything

Fall Back – Playing Robots Into Heaven

Tell Me – Playing Robots Into Heaven