James Blake, dance producer turned melancholic experimental songwriter, is prepping for a new album to be released on Friday, January 18th. Assume Form, Blake’s first full-length since 2016’s The Colour In Anything, promises to be a higher profile affair than his previous records, and finds the English producer and singer recruiting collaborators from the hip-hop world to add new textures to his work.
On the album’s latest single, “Mile High,” Travis Scott repays the favor Blake paid him on Astroworld‘s “Stop Trying To Be God,” showing up for a guest appearance. Perennial rap-producer-of-the-year candidate Metro Boomin (and frequent Scott beatsmith) also shows up.
The track carries more of Blake’s DNA than his collaborators’. When Travis and Metro link up, the results are usually bombastic. “Mile High,” in contrast, is an exercise in restraint. It features the tight trap drummers Metro is known for, but never explodes into anything other than a woozy, unbalanced tone poem.
“Mile High” was premiered on Apple Music’s Beats 1, and is currently available on all streaming services.