Overgrown

Musically broad and emotionally deep, Overgrown as big as an advance on James’s eponymous 2011 debut as that album was on the mercurial dubstep of his early EPs, and it reflects how much the 24-year-old Londoner’s life has changed in the past two years. His debut sold over 400,000 copies — quite something for a record so uncompromisingly introspective and experimental. It also picked up Mercury, Brit and Ivor Novello nominations, sent him around the world on tour, and brought him into contact with a wide array of fans and collaborators that includes not only Mitchell but Jay-Z, Kanye West, Bon Iver, Björk, Drake, Brian Eno and the RZA.

James’s newfound confidence and thirst for change has produced a second album that takes him to a new level of craft and feeling that his previous work only hinted at. “These last two years have really formed me,” says James. “I have huge ambitions." Overgrown is an incredible album that sees James growing as a singer and songwriter while at the same time returning to the brain melting electronic perfection of his early releases on Hemlock and Hessle, moving way beyond any post-dubstep pigeonholes to include stunning reinterpretations of both hip-hop and house.