James Blake's fourth album, ‘Assume Form’, features a world-class cast of guests, ranging from André 3000 and Travis Scott to ROSALÍA, Metro Boomin and Moses Sumney. Here are the kind of diverse and unexpected collaborators who could only be united by a mercurial, one-off talent, and a still-just-30-year-old who on ‘Assume Form’ continues to take bold new shapes.
As unrestricted by genre as it is always underpinned by classic, emotionally-open songwriting, James Blake’s new album is arguably his most direct, eclectic and pure artistic statement to date. ‘Assume Form’ also follows a rich period of creative and personal evolution for James, who has spoken candidly about his experiences of mental health, modern-day masculinity, and finding peace. Even the album artwork would appear to represent a fundamental shift for Blake, no longer distorted by illustration, landscape or design, but staring right at you – and into the future.
James Blake’s is an influence that can be felt throughout the modern musical landscape, often hiding in plain sight; allowing the man himself – as his fourth album suggests – to always evolve. To never settle. To ‘Assume Form’.