James Blake - Digital Lion

If you’ve just finished up listening to the ripped dub of James Blake’s Voyeur then hold that thought: this afternoon 1-800-DINOSAUR uploaded ‘Overgrown’ cut Digital Lion on Soundcloud – which in itself is exciting enough, not least because it’s a collaboration with Brian Eno (you might have heard of him).

If the dub version of Voyeur displayed James’ knack for tension and release, then Digital Lion cranks this up a level, shifting beguilingly between the tenderest of vocal interludes and sparse, uncompromising passages of beatwork. After the ascendant, assured Retrograde, Digital Lion signals a masterful intertwining of the club abstraction of James’ early R&S releases and his neo-soul self-titled debut. If that’s a meeting set to feature throughout ‘Overgrown’, then we may have something genuinely special on the way.