James Blake Says He’s Been Writing with Kanye West

The weekend before last, I saw FADER #72 cover star James Blake play a late-afternoon set at Governors Ball. I found myself in the middle of a very eclectic crowd: wild-eyed teens, cool dads and their young kids, chain-smoking 20somethings, etc. It was a bizarre and kinetic scene that I think is a testament to how far-reaching his emotionally vulnerable pop music has become. On Saturday, while in Tennessee for an even bigger festival, Bonnaroo, Blake sat down for a short interview with Billboard and shared some details about his follow-up to Overgrown, which he says is about 50% completed. Apparently, he's begun working with Kanye West ("sporadically…when he's around"), Justin Vernon aka Bon Iver and a third, unnamed collaborator that he's psyched about—but doesn't want to mention just yet. Watch the full interview below.