James Blake Shares “Retrograde” Single, Album Details

Less than 24 hours after James Blake announced an April 8th release date for his new album, Overgrown, he showed off its first single, “Retrograde”. Zane Lowe premiered the track on his BBC Radio 1 show, several days before its February 11th street date. A press release stated that “Retrograde” shows the “heart-piercing songwriter side with a skyscraper of soaring electronics,” while the album will feature “reinterpretations of both hip-hop and house.” The single shows off his soulful croon over a solemn piano tug and hip-hop clap percussion. The initial wordless vocals play the role a squiggly synth when it assumes the backing role; the emergence of Blake’s lead presents a clarity unique to many of his tracks, where quivering vocals grow emotively as buzzing synths and soaring vocal samples float in the distance. Mark down Overgrown as one of 2013’s most anticipated albums. “Retrograde”, which you can listen to below, makes the wait even harder. The music video for “Retrograde” is directed by Martin de Thurah, and will premiere live on Blake’s official YouTube channel on 5PM GMT on Sunday.

James Blake 2013 tour:

02-26 London, England – ICA
04-14 Indio, CA – Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival
04-16-17 San Francisco, CA – Mezzanine
04-18 Santa Cruz, CA – Rio Theatre
04-21 Indio, CA – Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival
04-23 Seattle, WA – Neptune
04-24 Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
04-25 Vancouver, British Columbia – Commodore Ballroom
04-27 Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot
04-28 Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
05-01 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
05-02 Chicago, IL – Metro
05-03 Detroit, MI – Majestic Theatre
05-04 Toronto, Ontario – Danforth Music Hall
05-06 Montreal, Quebec – Metropolis
05-08 Boston, MA – House of Blues
05-09 New York, NY – Terminal 5
05-11 Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of Living Arts
05-12 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
05-13 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
05-14 Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade
05-24 Barcelona, Spain – Primavera Sound
05-29 Madrid, Spain – Sala Capital

Listen: “I Mind“, “At Birth”

Official Site / BUY