James Blake at the Hammersmith Eventim Apollo
James Blake is one of the UK's most innovative vocal artists, now garnering a strong following both in America and Europe to boot. Integrating electronic music and sampling with soul-inflected vocals has become something of a trademark for James Blake.
It is a style that has earned him numerous accolades, including a Mercury Music Prize for his 2013 album Overgrown and an Ivor Novello Award for his single Retrograde. Naturally, given the opportunity we headed to the Hammersmith – now Eventim Apollo to see his performance.
He’s got one of the most interesting vocal chains we’ve seen in a while. The DPA d:facto™ Vocal mic is front and center, and he runs both wet and dry signals through the system to retain the incredible vocal clarity the show features.
FOH engineer Jamie Harley helped him find the ultimate sound for his vocals. Included in his vocal FX 500 series rack is his favourite reverb by Meris – the Mercury7, along with EQ and distressor units. This innovative use of 500 series for his live performances offers both studio quality effects and portability – something that shone bright at the Eventim Apollo.