''CMYK'' is the second solo

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

by London-based indie producer James Blake. It was released in both the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

on R&S Records on 28 May 2010. It samples many tracks, mostly from 1990s R&B. The EP received positive reviews from critics.

Composition

The title track samples

Kelis Kelis Rogers (; born August 21, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and chef. She attended Manhattan, New York's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, where she played saxophone and was selected for the Girls Ch ...

' " Caught Out There" and

Aaliyah Aaliyah Dana Haughton ( ; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer, actress, dancer, and model. Known as the " Princess of R&B" and "Queen of Urban Pop", she is credited with helping to redefine contemporary R&B, p ...

's " Are You That Somebody?".

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

described the track as "modern homage to old ideas" as Blake "

ook Ook, OoK or OOK may refer to: * Ook Chung (born 1963), Korean-Canadian writer from Quebec * On-off keying, in radio technology * Toksook Bay Airport (IATA code OOK), in Alaska * Ook!, an esoteric programming language based on Brainfuck * Ook, the ...

two R&B archetypes ... and imagines them in a back and forth." On the track, Blake sings normally and also occasionally uses a

vocoder A vocoder (, a portmanteau of ''vo''ice and en''coder'') is a category of speech coding that analyzes and synthesizes the human voice signal for audio data compression, multiplexing, voice encryption or voice transformation. The vocoder wa ...

to process his voice. The track is influenced by 1990s rave pop and also contains

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

s. The following song, "Footnotes" also has Blake using the vocoder, but the song is

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

al and contains "

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

chords". It is a

minimalist In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...

ic track; it uses slight noises to create an "atmospheric" sound. The next song "I'll Stay" has been described as the "warmest, most accessible track of 'CMYK''. It is also hymnal, but it contains a

call and response Call and response is a form of interaction between a speaker and an audience in which the speaker's statements ("calls") are punctuated by responses from the listeners. This form is also used in music, where it falls under the general category of ...

with repeated, high-pitched synthesizers. The final track, "Postpone" has been likened to a "lumbering requiem before transforming into lumbering exultation." It features electronic beats, "

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

choruses", and "triumphant"

horn Horn may refer to: Common uses * Horn (acoustic), a tapered sound guide ** Horn antenna ** Horn loudspeaker ** Vehicle horn ** Train horn *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various animals * Horn (instrument), a family ...

Reception

The EP received generally positive reviews from music critics. Mike Powell of ''Pitchfork'' complimented how Blake used the samples in his music, and gave the EP a score of 8.3 out of 10. ''

Fact A fact is a truth, true data, datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance. Standard reference works are often used to Fact-checking, check facts. Science, Scientific facts are verified by repeatable careful observation or measurement by ...

'' named "Postpone" as the highlight of ''CMYK'', and called the EP "the most anthemic thing Blake's done to date." In the review, the EP received 4 out of 5 "records", and the reviewer stated that he was "sold n Blake's music" Sam Louis of ''

Resident Advisor ''Resident Advisor'' (also known as ''RA'') is an online music magazine and community platform established in 2001 and dedicated to showcasing electronic music, artists and events across the globe. Its editorial team provides news, music and ev ...

'' gave ''CMYK'' 4 out of 5 stars and stated that "Blake underpins nearly everything here with those comfortable blankets, wrapping you up while he makes you consider dancing." He also wrote "

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

clearly also knows that a little bit of subtlety can go a long way", and that " is songs arejust as emotionally affecting, squeezing pathos out a single line from Kelis and warm, deep chords." ''Pitchfork'' later named ''CMYK'' the eighth best album of the year, along with ''The Bells Sketch'' EP and ''

Klavierwerke ''Klavierwerke'' is the third solo EP by English musician James Blake, who plays all the instruments and produced the record. It was released on R&S Records on 27 September 2010. The word "Klavierwerke" is German for "piano works", as the albu ...

'' EP; the website applauded how Blake released so much material in a year. It also included "CMYK" on its list of the 200 Best Songs of the 2010s.

Track listing

Personnel

* James Blake – writing, production *Matt Colton – mastering

Charts

References

{{James Blake 2010 EPs Albums produced by James Blake (musician) James Blake (musician) EPs