The FADER Interview: James Blake on firing his inner critic

James Blake is this week’s guest on The FADER Interview podcast. Blake spoke with The FADER’s Arielle Lana LeJarde in advance of the release of his new album, Playing Robots into Heaven, coming this Friday (September 8). Over the course of the interview, he talked about returning his music to the club setting, the importance of inclusion in the electronic scene, the perils of social media, and his ongoing work on his mental health.

Early on in the conversation, Blake explained that the Playing Robots into Heaven song "Fire The Editor" was written as a reminder to himself to stop doubting his talents. Despite being on his sixth studio album and having worked with everyone from Beyoncé to Andre 3000, he still doesn't always feel fully able to express himself.

"The editor is me, it's your internal monologue," he explains. "It’s the inner voice that prevents you from being yourself, being an unedited, truly authentic self, really. You edit yourself to kind of give the impression of you that you’d like people to receive. Sometimes I see my videos online and I think, 'Who is that?' Maybe it's the millennial in me. So it's 'Fire the editor,' get rid of it."

Listen to James and Arielle’s full conversation via this link, embedded below, or wherever you get your podcasts.

September 18 - Milan, IT - Fabrique
September 21 - Brussels, BE - Forest National Club
September 22 - Paris, FR - L'Olympia
September 24 - Berlin - DE - UFO im Velodrom
September 26 - Tilburg, NL - 013
September 28 - London, UK - Alexandra Palace
October 3 - Atlanta, GA - Coca Cola Roxy
October 5 - Queens, NY - Knockdown Center
October 9 - Boston, MA - MGM Music Hall at Fenway
October 10 - Montreal, CA - L’Olympia
October 12 - Toronto, CA - Rebel
October 14 - Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom
October 16 - San Francisco, CA - The Masonic Theater
October 19 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Forever Cemetery