BY: Dante Fresse

James Blake is a dynamic artist whose reached mainstream appeal in 2009 with his breakout song, “Air and Lackthereof.” Since then he’s featured with artists like Kendrick Lamar, Mount Kimbie, Bon Iver, and Frank Ocean. For this week, we’re kicking off the three best James Blake music videos, where he combines his trippy vocals with magnificent visuals and design.

“Can’t Believe the Way We Flow” (2019)

“Can’t Believe the Way We Flow” kicks off this countdown. Its ethereal soundscapes weave enchanting melody with haunting vocals and powerful imagery from this music video. Director Frank Lebon envisioned this story as an abstract expression of images. Here, people partake in a variety of activities which depict the daily flow of life. Blake himself gets bird poop on his head before a symphony of images display everyday moments which occur around the culmination of love between two people. Smoking, laughing, dancing, and drawing all orbit around two changing faces kissing. This kiss acts as a link between the mundanity of life and uniqueness of true romance. Lebon edits together a medley of images in rapid succession to illustrate the fast movement of life as two lovers enter its flow.

“Retrograde” (2013)

“Retrograde” is a cinematographic tour-de-force, wrapping sophisticated visual and style with a touching story. The narrative follows a space crash and then reveals of a helmeted observer on a motorcycle. This witness to the crash revisits an old house where he or she is haunted by visions of the past or from her imagination–floating rocks and debris act as remains from the explosion. It’s difficult to see whether this lead is experiencing reality or caught in a fictional world, but nonetheless, the ambiguity of the story is likely the intention of Martin de Thurah, the video’s director. His unorthodox vision and the video’s cinematographic design makes this a must-see.

“My Willing Heart” (2017)

This video stars Natalie Portman and is a stark black and white piece with highly stylized aesthetics. Director Anna Rose Holmer captures Natalie Portman swimming with a pregnant belly through light streaked water. Portman plays with children and basks in long takes of her floating underwater. The video accentuates the female form and highlights the speciality of life. Underwater shots are contrasted with image of Portman on land, laying on beds, allowing the camera to appreciate her form. This video is unique and a must-see from Blake’s dossier.