♪ >> JAMES: WELCOME BACK.
OUR NEXT GUEST IS A GRAMMY AWARD WINNING SINGER/SONGWRITER AND
MUSICIAN.
HE'S JOINING US FROM RIGHT HERE IN LOS ANGELES, THE SUPERB
THE DELIGHTFUL, JAMES BLAKE!
HE'S HERE ON THE SHOW!
HOW ARE YOU, JAMES?
>> REALLY WELL.
THANKS FOR HAVING ME ON.
>> James: IT'S SO NICE TO SEE YOU.
SO NICE TO HAVE YOU ON THE SHOW.
NOW, YOU HAVE BEEN -- I'M GOING TO SAY YOU HAVE BEEN PRETTY BUSY
DURING THIS WHOLE SHELTER IN PLACE.
YOU RELEASED A SONG WITH KILANI.
>> YES.
>> James: YOU RELEASED YOUR OWN SONG CALLED "YOU'RE TOO
PRECIOUS" WHICH, LIKE ALL YOUR SONGS, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE.
>> THANK YOU.
>> James: ARE THESE GOING TO BE ON A NEW ALBUM, THESE SONGS,
OR ARE THEY JUST THINGS YOU'RE PUTTING OUT FOR THIS MOMENT IN
TIME?
>> YEAH, THE "YOU'RE TOO PRECIOUS," I CAN'T REALLY
PREDICT, HONESTLY, AT THIS POINT, BUT I IMAGINE IT WOULD BE
ON THE NEXT RECORD.
IT FEELS LIKE A NICE PICK UP FROM THE LAST RECORD INTO THE
NEXT.
>> James: YEAH.
SO, YOU KNOW, THE REST OF THE STUFF IS QUITE DIFFERENT.
SO WE'LL SEE.
>> James: ARE YOU FINDING IT EASY TO STAY VERY MOTIVATED
DURING THIS LOCKDOWN.
>> NO.
>> James: ARE YOU TAKING TIME TO RELAX OR ARE YOU WRITING
EVERY DAY?
>> I AM BARELY HOLDING IT TOGETHER.
>> James: YOU LOOK LIKE YOU'RE HOLDING IT TOGETHER.
>> IT'S THE FIRST TIME IN A GOOD WHILE THAT I'VE PUT ON CLOTHES.
I APPRECIATE, ACTUALLY, THE OPPORTUNITY TO WEAR, TO FEEL
LIKE I'M WEARING REAL CLOTHES.
>> James: I'M FINDING SOMETHING IS HAPPENING TO MY
CLOTHES AND THEY'RE GETTING SMALLER.
HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED THIS?
SOMETHING NO ONE'S REALLY TALKING ABOUT.
>> WHATEVER IT IS, IT'S SOMETHING OTHER THAN WHAT I'M
DOING.
>> James: BUT YOU HAVE BEEN DOING, I THINK, LOTS OF ARTISTS
HAVE BEEN PUTTING STUFF UP ON INSTAGRAM AND DURING ISOLATION.
BUT YOU HAVE BEEN DOING BRILLIANT Q&As WHERE YOU ASKED
PEOPLE TO SUGGEST COVER VERSIONS, AND I THINK YOURS ARE
BRINGING A LOT OF PEOPLE A LOT OF JOY.
HOW DO YOU WORK OUT WHICH SONG YOU'RE GOING TO DO WHEN PEOPLE
MAKE A REQUEST?
>> JUST WHOEVER SUGGESTS ONE I ALREADY KNOW.
>> James: RIGHT.
I HAVE BEEN -- I'M TRYING TO BALANCE IT IN TERMS OF GENRE AS
WELL.
I DON'T WANT TO JUST SELECT ALL ONE TYPE OF THING AND THEN, YOU
KNOW, I JUST HAD A STEVIE COVER.
I NEVER COVERED STEVIE WONDER BEFORE.
THAT IS THE ONE PERSON YOU DO NOT MESS WITH, SO I WAS NERVOUS.
THAT WOULD FEEL TERRIBLE.
>> James: I FEEL LIKE YOU'RE THE ARTIST WHO HAS A PARSONAGE.
I'LL TELL YOU WHY.
THE SONG YOU WILL PERFORM FOR US WHEN YOU COME BACK, YOUR COVER
OF JONI MITCHELL'S "A CASE OF YOU" IS THE GREATEST COVER
VERSION OF ALL TIME, AND I DON'T SEE SAI THAT LIGHTLY.
I INCLUDE IN IT AMY WINEHOUSE'S "VALERIE."
>> THAT'S THE ULTIMATE PRAISE WHICH I CANNOT ACCEPT.
>> James: BUT IT'S TRUE, AND I THINK YOU'RE AN ARTIST WHO TAKES
A SONG AND MAKES IT THEIR OWN.
IS THERE EVER A WORLD WHERE WE GET JAMES BLAKE'S DUETS COVERS
ALBUM?
>> I HAVE BEEN THINKING ABIT, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE -- ABOUT IT
BECAUSE I'M RECORDING IT.
AS A DISCLAIMER, I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO HAVE PLAYED "YOU'RE TOO
PRECIOUS" ON THIS SHOW FOR YOU BECAUSE THIS IS THE SONG I JUST
PUT OUT, BUT WITHOUT THE DRUMS IT SOUNDS HEINOUS.
>> James: WEIRD YOU SAY THAT BECAUSE OUR BAND WITHOUT THE
DRUMS VASTLY IMPROVE.
( LAUGHTER ) EVERYBODY SAYS IT.
WE JUST LOVE GUILLERMO.
( LAUGHTER ) THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR DOING --
YOU KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO ME AS A SONG AND I'M SO HAPPY YOU'RE
GOING TO DO IT.
WHEN WE COME BACK, SCWAIMS BLAKE HAS A PERFORMANCE YOU DO NOT
WANT TO MISS.
COME ON BACK, EVERYBODY.