In Paris, James Blake transforms the Olympia into a techno nightclub

2023-09-21 17:30:00
James Blake in concert in Milan, September 18, 2023. CLAUDIO VENERONI/IPA/SIPA

James Blake has made a name for himself and earned a reputation thanks to his introspective albums and his cut golden voice, crushed on his airy productions which recall the heyday of Bristol trip-hop. From Kendrick Lamar to Travis Scott, including pop stars Beyoncé and Rosalia and the refined Frank Ocean, the style of this keyboardist who trained in the small dubstep clubs of east London was quickly sought after. by the biggest names in American rap. So what a surprise, Wednesday September 20, to see him transform the Olympia into a techno nightclub, succumbing like a teenager to his first emotions on beats hammered to the point of fainting.

The Briton is jubilant to see the audience screaming and getting up to dance: “I love coming to play in Paris. It’s the best way to start a tour.”, assures the thirty-year-old right in the middle of the show. His recent album, Playing Robots into Heaventweaked during the long waiting times between soundchecks and concerts from his previous tours, is intended to be a tribute to dance music.

The intention is evident on tracks like Fall Backco-written with Starrah, the remarkable Tell Mecrossed by an irresistible breakbeat, or Big Hammer, which invites the voices of the duo Ragga Twins. In the early 1990s, the Destouche twins were all the rage when dancefloors discovered drum and bass and its Jamaican roots. Jungle ragga hits then turned London raves upside down. This will not be the case with this piece which is terribly lacking in warmth.

Tender confession to his father

For these two Parisian dates, James Blake surrounded himself with a most effective drummer, Ben Assiter, in the center of the stage, the backbone of his compositions, a guitarist, Rob McAndrews, placed in front of a keyboard, and ‘an enormous installation, where like Lee Scratch Perry, he seems to mix blindly. The trio is placed in front of video screens which project characters between robots and flying men by Jean-Michel Folon, advancing towards a very virtual paradise. The lighting which goes around the rectangle of the stage gives the impression of seeing them in a master painting.

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From this concert which aims to transform into a DJ set, we will especially remember the more classic pieces like I Want You to Know where only his voice and the reverb of a snare drum resonate. Magical moments again with this piano-voice, If You Can Hear Mewhere his drummer and his guitarist abandon him and where he addresses his father: “Dad, if you can hear me, we haven’t talked as much as I would have liked. » There, the audience was not quick to applaud in the silent pauses, as they had done on other pieces, not spoiling the tenderness of the confession.

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