James Blake (5,184 views)

[rootyrootz]

James Blake Litherland
Voice type: The (Baritone) Colour in Anything
Vocal Range: C♯2 - F5

Significant High Notes:

F5 ("Choose Me")
E5 ("Digital Lion")
D5 ("Are You In Love?", "I'll Come Too", "Retrograde", "Unluck")
C♯5 ("Digital Lion", "Do You Ever", "Into the Red", "Noise Above Our Heads", "Say What You Will")
C5 ("Before", "Choose Me", "f.o.r.e.v.e.r.", "I Keep Calling", "Lindisfarne", "when the party's over", "Where's the Catch?")
B4 ("Assume Form", "Love Me In Whatever Way", "Modern Soul", "Our Love Comes Back", "Power On", "Put That Away and Talk to Me", "The Sound of Silence", "Tell Them")
B♭4 ("Always", "Before", "Choose Me", "The Colour in Anything", "Godspeed", "Not Long Now", "Meet You in the Maze", "My Willing Heart", "Once We All Agree", "We Go Home Together")
A4 ("A Case of You", "Barefoot in the Park", "DLM", "Forward", "I Am Sold", "I Need a Forest Fire" Live in Houston 2016, "I Never Learnt to Share", "Klavierwerke" Live NPR, "Lindisfarne" Live NPR, "Lullaby for My Insomniac", "Measurements", "Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer", "Olivia Kept", "Radio Silence", "STOP TRYING TO BE GOD", "Summer of Now", "To the Last", "Waves Know Shores")
G♯4 ("Always", "Asking for a Friend", "Can't Believe the Way We Flow", "Choose Me", "Godspeed", "I Hope My Life", "I Keep Calling", "Into the Red", "Love Me In Whatever Way", "Mile High", "Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer", "Noise Above Our Heads", "Once We All Agree", "Put That Away and Talk to Me", "Say What You Will", "Two Men Down", "Where's the Catch?", "You're Too Precious")
G4 ("A Case of You", "Are You Even Real?", "Are You In Love?", "Barefoot in the Park", "Black Lung", "DLM", "Enough Thunder", "f.o.r.e.v.e.r.", "If the Car Beside You Moves Ahead", "Loathe to Roam", "Love What Happened Here", "Meet You in the Maze", "Modern Soul", "Our Love Comes Back", "Radio Silence", "Retrograde", "STOP TRYING TO BE GOD", "Unluck", "We Go Home Together", "What Was it You Said About Luck", "when the party's over")
F♯4 ("Assume Form", "The Catch Up", "Come As You Are", "Digital Lion", "Don't Miss It", "Don't You Think I Do", "Give Me My Month", "I Am Sold", "I Need a Forest Fire", "I Keep Calling", "I'll Come Too", "MaNyfaCedGod", "Measurements", "Modern Soul", "Noise Above Our Heads", "Power On", "Put That Away and Talk to Me", "The Sound of Silence", "Timeless", "We Might Feel Unsound")
F4 ("Before", "Can't Believe the Way We Flow", "The Colour in Anything", "Do You Ever", "Enough Thunder", "f.o.r.e.v.e.r.", "Half Heat Full", "I Hope My Life", "I Mind", "Into the Red", "Life Round Here", "Limit to Your Love", "Loathe to Roam", "Lullaby for My Insomniac", "My Willing Heart", "Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer", "Not Long Now", "Overgrown", "To Care (Like You)", "Voyeur", "You're Too Precious")
E4 (“A Case of You”, “Always”, "Are You Even Real?", “Give Me My Month”, “I Never Learnt to Share”, "Mile High", “Our Love Comes Back”, “Points”, "STOP TRYING TO BE GOD", "Summer of Now", "Tell Them", “Vincent”, "when the party's over", “Why Don’t You Call Me”, “The Wilhelm Scream”)

Significant Low Notes:

D3 ("A Case of You", "Before", "DLM", "Give Me My Month", "Lullaby for My Insomniac", "Modern Soul", "Overgrown", "Power On", "Summer of Now", "Timeless", "To the Last", "Vincent", "when the party's over", "Why Don't You Call Me")
C♯3 ("Do You Ever", "I Am Sold", "I Keep Calling", "MaNyfaCedGod", "Measurements", "You're Too Precious")
C3 ("Barefoot in the Park", "Enough Thunder", "I Hope My Life", "Loathe to Roam", "when the party's over")
B2 ("Are You Even Real?", "The Bells Sketch", "Digital Lion", "Don't Miss It", "Mile High", "Tell Them", "The Wilhelm Scream")
B♭2 ("Are You In Love?" Live on Jimmy Kimmel, "Asking for a Friend", "Enough Thunder", "Meet You in the Maze", "Retrograde")
A2 ("Always", "Choose Me", "The Colour in Anything", "Lullaby for My Insomniac", "MaNyfaCedGod", "Noise Above Our Heads", "Power On", "Unluck")
G♯2 ("Can't Believe the Way We Flow", "Don't Miss It", "Into the Red", "Mile High", "My Willing Heart", "Say What You Will", "The Sound of Silence", "Tell Them", "To Care (Like You)", "Where's the Catch?", "You're Too Precious")
G2 ("Are You Even Real?", "Are You In Love?", "Asking for a Friend", "If the Car Beside You Moves Ahead", "Unluck" Live NPR, "Waves Know Shores", "What Was it You Said About Luck", "The Wilhelm Scream")
F♯2 ("Digital Lion", "DLM", "I Never Learnt to Share", "Mile High", "Noise Above Our Heads", "Power On")
F2 ("Black Lung", "Say What You Will", "To Care (Like You)", "Waves Know Shores", "Where's the Catch?")
E2 ("Lindisfarne", "MaNyfaCedGod")
E♭2 ("DLM", "The Sound of Silence")
D2 ("If the Car Beside You Moves Ahead")
C♯2 ("Measurements")
...................................................................................................................................................................................................
*Underlines mark notes that are in harmonies, backing vocals, or are otherwise obscured in the song's mix.
*Blue marks light head voice/falsetto notes.
*Italics mark non-sung notes.
*Bold marks particularly good examples of the vocalist's capabilities.

[rootyrootz]

Nov 28, 2021 17:57:31 GMT fallenalien said:

I really liked his vocal description on the old page. It kind of reads like an advertisment, but I like it.

"Often mistaken as African-American due to the gospel and soul influence in his voice, the British James Blake Litherland is a classical pianist, electronic music producer, and resonant baritone. He does, however, frequently and effortlessly sing up into the tenor tessitura, so one could understandably classify him as a higher voice type.

His voice has a rare quality of being incredibly light and agile in its weight (hence the brilliant vibrato), while at the same time being remarkably dark and warm in its color. This combined with his style being so classical makes for a fairly unique tone that isn't common in mainstream music or in the underground electronic scene from which he originated. One of his greatest strengths is how well he understands his own voice in its uniqueness.

Despite his quickness to divert to a mix of light head voice and falsetto, his belting up to A4 is very clean and full (ex. "I Need A Forest Fire" Live at House of Blues). And despite how sparingly he uses his lower tones, he proves capable all throughout the second octave (ex. Measurements)."

I made that! Yeah I thought it was too opinionated so I omitted it from this one

[Bink]

Those are some funky font sizes in the high section

[rootyrootz]

FYI I will be "remastering" this thread as well as finally adding the notes from his two most recent albums.

Update 9/8/23: make that 3 albums, guys I swear

[KaizoKazoo]

I know you're probably still working on updating the thread and I don't want to rush you with that, but I honestly feel like it would be a disservice to not include his "Say What You Will" notes at this point.

The beginning has some strong F2s, and a few G♯2s in the first chorus. These are possibly bold-worthy when comparing them to the other low bold notes on the thread. There are also plenty of F4s throughout, and James's voice just levitates in the passage at 2:38, culminating in one of the most bold-worthy C♯5s I have ever heard.

SPOILER: Click to show

{The Music Video}

[amadeusd]

I think the C#2s in Measurements might be studio trickery. I don't believe he's ever gone this low live, and we have no other examples of similar singing (there's a caveat here*) and it sounds as if its processed and has a crunchy synth-like quality to it (at all three points that could be reference here.. in the same phrase, tbf).

* I don't know where the D2 is supposed to be, so Perhaps If i hear this itll help, but note linked so unsure I would find it just trawling the track..

[KaizoKazoo]

The D2s are at like 2:30 in the track. Admittedly they're not good though, just two deep fried D2s.

That being said, I don't think the C♯2s are suspicious. It doesn't sound that processed to me, probably just EQ'd to sound more powerful. I don't hear the crunchy quality that you describe. I think C♯2 is perfectly reasonable for him to sing given his other 2nd octave notes, albeit with some strain.

[rootyrootz]

I think he knows his range isn't as reliable in that lower 2nd octave so he doesn't sing those notes live. F2 in "Black Lung" is the lowest I can recall hearing him in concert

However he produces for himself and I think the groggy C#2 in Measurements was achievable in the studio (aka his bedroom at the time)

[amadeusd]

Aug 6, 2024 17:56:34 GMT rootyrootz said:

However he produces for himself and I think the groggy C#2 in Measurements was achievable in the studio (aka his bedroom at the time)

This is actually one of the reasons I'm a bit dubious - he recorded this album on Garageband as best I can tell (possibly Logic, but the comments below would still apply), which i used extensively (still do, but at the time, daily) for recording everything from choral to pure EDM. 

The vocal line sounds almost exactly like a particular plug-in that I cannot recall the name of (it probably doesn't exist anymore) which was designed to pitch-shift vocals on Garageband & Logic without having to use the track attenuation tools (because it was, at the time, very hard to isolate a particular line or note from a whole track to apply the effect to with the built-in effects). I used this tool a lot at the time (between 2009-2012).. precise the period he recorded this album. 

Aside from that, the album is absolutely RIFE with processing, pitch-shifting, vocoding, autotune and all manner of tools to ensure his voice is not as-in-person. It would seem odd to me that something which sounds (at least somewhat) processed on an album full of processed vocals, would randomly not be when it represents a note that presents a bit of an anomaly. 

As always, could be wrong, and If no one else agrees, all good. 

[rootyrootz]

objection, your honor, speculation! it's definitely snapping to the nearest pitch yeah but if i exclude those notes then half of the thread poofs away

[amadeusd]

Aug 7, 2024 0:23:50 GMT rootyrootz said:

objection, your honor, speculation! it's definitely snapping to the nearest pitch yeah but if i exclude those notes then half of the thread poofs away

Lmao okay that’s a pretty strong point in this case