Assume Form
Assume Form is the fourth studio album by English singer-songwriter and producer James Blake. It was released on 18 January 2019 by Polydor Records. Critics described the album as having a more upbeat sound than Blake's prior work, especially his previous album, The Colour in Anything (2016). The album, which combines pop and electropop, and elements of hip hop and R&B, features guest vocal appearances by Travis Scott, Moses Sumney, Rosalía, and André 3000, as well as contributions from producer Metro Boomin.
Assume Form
18 January 2019
2017–2018
- Conway (Hollywood, California)
- Groove Masters (Santa Monica, California)
- United (Hollywood, California)
48:08
- Allen Ritter
- Dre Moon
- James Blake
- Metro Boomin
- Wavey
The lead single "Don't Miss It" was released on 4 June 2018 and two further singles, "Mile High" and "Lullaby for My Insomniac" followed in January. Upon the album's release, Assume Form received praise from critics for its more upbeat sound, romanticism and production. The album was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.
Background and recording[edit]
In 2016, James Blake collaborated with Beyoncé on the album Lemonade. Following this, he stated that he "always felt, or at least for a long time, that [his] position in music was to bubble under mainstream [...] [and] be kind of like a musician's musician".[1] Blake subsequently worked with numerous hip hop and electronic artists—including Jay-Z on the album 4:44; Kendrick Lamar on the track "Element"; Mount Kimbie the album Love What Survives; Oneohtrix Point Never on the album Age Of; and Travis Scott on the track "Stop Trying to Be God".[2][3][4][5]
In May 2017, Blake revealed that he had already written new music such as "hip hop things" and "collaborative productions and beats" but added that he was unsure whether they would be stand-alone singles or projects.[6] He booked spontaneous sessions with Rosalía and André 3000, which brought about André 3000's EP Look Ma No Hands, as well as the tracks "Barefoot in the Park" and "Where's the Catch?", both tracks from Assume Form.[7] Blake was inspired to collaborate with Rosalía after hearing her debut record Los Ángeles, and stated that he "honestly hadn’t heard anything so vulnerable and raw and devastating in quite a while." He subsequently invited her to the studio and made "two or three things" and added that he "loved the sound of our voices together."[8] He also performed in the studio with Travis Scott after collaborating on his album Astroworld. He described the session as unusual, saying, "[Scott] had just released Astroworld, which is like banger after banger, and then he comes and does this really vulnerable, sweet love song [Mile High]." The recording session with Moses Sumney and Metro Boomin for "Tell Them" was described as a "vulnerable moment" by Blake.[7]
Music and lyrics[edit]
Assume Form has been described as a pop and electropop with elements of hip hop and R&B,[9][10][11] and as significantly more upbeat than his previous records, numerous publications contrasting it with the "utterly downcast" The Colour in Anything.[12][13][14] Blake's vocals range from deeper tones to a falsetto and the record also features manipulated vocals and a "self-choir".[15][16] Variations on a hip hop beat featured on the track "Can't Believe the Way We Flow", which Blake performed several times in late 2017, appears on various tracks off the record.[17] Its lyrics mainly allude to Blake's relationship with his girlfriend Jameela Jamil and their life in Los Angeles.[11] Blake told Dazed that the album was about his current feelings, referring to his sentiments towards his girlfriend, as a reaction to when online music magazine Pitchfork described Assume Form's lead single "Don't Miss It" as "sad boy music", and explained that "on this record, I'm just talking about how I feel now, and I will continue to write about how I feel, or sometimes I won't talk about how I feel, but I'll fucking damn well choose when I do and when I don't – without feeling like because I'm a man I shouldn't do that."[7] In an interview with Exclaim!, Blake said, "I wanted to try and say the thing I mean, which is hard. It's scary to do that sometimes. I think the fear kept me from doing that before."[18]
Promotion and release[edit]
In December 2018, Blake announced a tour of North America beginning in Atlanta in February 2019 and ending in Los Angeles the following month.[19] People who had purchased tickets for the North America tour also received a copy of his forthcoming album.[20] Later that month, Blake teased new material with American rapper and multi-instrumentalist André 3000 during a show in Brooklyn.[21][22]
On 3 January 2019, a French Amazon pre-order page of the album surfaced online, including details such as its release date, track listing, and featured artists, thus revealing that the single "Don't Miss It", which was released on 4 June 2018, was a track from the album.[23][24] However, both "Vincent", released in late 2017, and "If the Car Beside You Moves Ahead", released earlier in 2018 were absent from the track listing.[25][23] Nevertheless, there had been speculation that the leak was "an elaborate fake".[26]
Soon after, LED and projection billboards appeared in London and New York promoting the album and revealing a URL for assumeform.com.[27][28] The site featured a short sample of minimal, ambient music, revealed by Shazam to be "Lullaby for My Insomniac", and an animated graphic featuring the album title.[29] A sign in tag and a video asking a series of questions, taken from the lyrics to the title track, were later added to the site.[23] On 10 January, promotional posters for the album appeared on the London Underground, revealing the album' cover art and officially confirming a release date of 18 January 2019 and guest appearances from André 3000, Travis Scott, Moses Sumney, Metro Boomin and Rosalía.[30][23] Both the track listing and the features were confirmed on Blake's official Instagram account.[23]
On 17 January, only twelve hours prior to the album's release, Blake released the track "Mile High" featuring Travis Scott and Metro Boomin after having premiered it on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 show.[31][32][33] Hours later, a third single, "Lullaby for My Insomniac", was released.[34][35] The track "Barefoot in the Park" was released as a single on 4 April, accompanied by a music video.[36][37] The song "Mulholland", which is included on the vinyl version of Assume Form, was released on 26 April as a single.[38][39]
Commercial performance[edit]
Assume Form debuted at number 21 on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart in the United States with 22,000 equivalent album units, including 9,000 from traditional album sales. The album became Blake's highest charting album on Billboard, and his third chart-topping album by genre. In addition, all tracks from the album charted on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.[62][63] Blake also earned his highest charting album in the United Kingdom, reaching number 6 and selling 6,226 equivalent album units, including 1,344 CD units.[64][65]
Notes
Sample credits