James Blake has released a new version of his track “Funeral” featuring slowthai. You can check out the song’s official video below.
“Funeral” premiered last night on Radio 1 as the station’s ‘Hottest Record In The World’. The track is taken from Blake’s fifth studio album, Friends That Break Your Heart, released on October 8 via Polydor in the UK and Republic Records in the US.
Last night, Blake took to the stage at The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon for the TV debut performance of “Funeral” with slowthai.
Friends That Break Your Heart has garnered both fan and critical acclaim since its release last week. It was lauded as “James Blake in his richest, rawest form” (NME); “His most beautiful work to date” (DIY); “an excellent showcase of Mr. Blake’s gifts” (The Wall Street Journal); and “a record full of mesmerizingly brilliant composition and some of the most accomplished songwriting of Blake’s career” (The i).
James Blake has produced choice cuts on Frank Ocean’s Blonde and Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. as well as JAY-Z’s 4:44 and Beyoncé’s Lemonade—to which he also lent his voice in both cases. Feature appearances span “Stop Trying to Be God” with Stevie Wonder and Kid Cudi on Travis Scott’s epic ASTROWORLD and “King’s Dead” with Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, and Future from the chart-dominating Black Panther: The Album. The latter not only went triple-platinum, but it also earned Blake his first Grammy Award in the category of “Best Rap Performance.”
Simultaneously, Blake emerged as pop’s most celebrated outlier with his dynamic solo output. He introduced a singular sound on 2011’s James Blake. Awarding the record a rare 9.0-out-of-10 score, Pitchfork crowned it one of the ‘Top 100 Albums of the Decade So Far (2010-2014).’ On its heels, the 2013 Overgrown illustrated his rare magnetic ability to align the likes of Brian Eno and RZA on the same project. It notably received the 2013 Mercury Prize and secured Blake’s “Best New Artist” nomination at the Grammy Awards.
After 2016’s The Colour In Anything, he reached new critical and commercial peaks with Assume Form during 2019. It bowed at #21 on the Billboard Top 200, marking his highest entry to date. Beyond clocking 300 million cumulative streams in under a year, it garnered the Grammy nomination for “Best Alternative Album” and graced “Best of 2019” lists for outlets including Time Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, Stereogum, Consequence of Sound, Billboard, DJ Booth, and Esquire.
Buy or stream Friends That Break Your Heart.
