British singer/songwriter/producer James Blake has worn a lot of hats in his relatively short career. Beginning as an electronic dance music producer and remixer, he slowly transformed into making songs with his soulful voice upfront and more traditional song structure. There's an asterisk to traditional, however, as his electronic roots have kept his new material sonically fascinating. One of the more attractive qualities of Blake is his openness to collaboration across genre boundaries. Beyond his initial electronic music world, he has worked with both new and classic hip hop producers and rappers, some of R&B's most exciting artists, and indie-rock/folk songwriters such as Bon Iver (who recently performed with Blake at the Glastonbury Festival in Scotland). Kanye West called Blake his "favorite artist" in 2012 and Blake was invited to contribute to Beyoncé's groundbreaking Lemonade album on the track "Forward". Most recently, he performed a surprise version of "Timeless" at the Glastonbury Festival that featured young virtuoso rapper Vince Staples, and the two went on to record it in the studio.

Blake's newest record, The Colour of Anything, which includes the original version of "Timeless", has been met with mixed reviews from critics, but for those who love it, it is a unique and beautiful work. The tracks interweave electronic elements and traditional song structure more seemlessly than he has ever done, and the album has a dark and sorrowful vibe that it maintains front to back, while remaining interesting all the way through. "Points", on this mix, is a perfect example of what Blake accomplishes on the new album, as it features a beautiful melodic vocal track, but also breaks that vocal down into a repeating and insistent rhythmic pattern that ushers in a sonically experimental section that you could expect to find on an electronic album of instrumentals. Though it isn't the most traditional track on the album, it shows off the unique niche that Blake has carved out for himself over time. Though he continues to collaborate extensively, he is clearly able to stand alone as well.