James Blake releases surprise EP ‘CMYK 002

James Blake has surprised fans by releasing a new unannounced four-track EP, titled ‘CMYK 002 – Let Her Know’. Listen to the release below.

The producer posted the link to the new release on Saturday (June 15), clarifying that the EP is not a sequel to his acclaimed breakthrough 2010 EP ‘CMYK’, but a new release on his own imprint that goes by the same name.

CMYK 002 – Let Her Know EP. Out Now.https://t.co/znv5a08jiN pic.twitter.com/x3pOKbGZlY

— James Blake (@jamesblake) June 15, 2024

FYI CMYK 002 is not a sequel to the original EP. ‘CMYk’ My independent imprint is named CMYK, and this is my second release on it (the first being 001 – thrown around)

Just to clear that up for anyone confused by it 😆

— James Blake (@jamesblake) June 15, 2024

Listen to the EP here:

It comes just weeks after Blake released the blissed-out single ‘Thrown Around’, which is not included on the new EP. That song was described by Blake as a nod to the music he grew up listening to in England.

Later this month, Blake will also release ‘Bad Cameo’, a collaborative album with Lil Yachty, which was first speculated upon back in February. That record is released on June 28.

Speaking about the track, Blake said: “It’s a defiant song that’s wrestling with where our job takes us, what it does to our life. It deals with the draw backs of spending so much time dedicated to work. We don’t have any drives towards community – we are all driven towards success. Then we feel lonely and Thrown Around. This song brings people together – it is the connection through defiance.”

That was his first release since becoming an independent artist. Back in April, he took to his official Instagram account and shared a video saying “it feels good to be independent because I’ve wanted to take things into my own hands for a long time” and said he was looking forward to working more “directly” with his fans.

His announcement as an independent artist came after he went viral for a series of posts, criticising the lack of royalties artists can make by streaming their music or sharing it on TikTok. Following the posts online, Blake began teasing that he had found a “solution” to the issue.

Earlier this week, Blake featured on the tracklist for the debut studio album by Normani. The firmer Fifth Harmony singer released ‘Dopamine’ on Friday (June 14), and it included the track ‘Tantrums’, a collaboration with Blake.

The producer’s last studio album was 2023’s ‘Playing Robots Into Heaven‘. In a four-star review of the album, NME wrote: “Nodding to his earliest CMYK releases, the production quality on ‘Playing Robots Into Heaven’ is consistently inventive and hard-hitting – even in its quieter moments.”

Blake is set to perform at a handful of music festivals this summer including Glastonbury. Visit here for a full list of live dates.

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