James Blake is “about 70% done” with his new album

Since winning last year’s Mercury Prize, news on James Blake’s follow-up record has been sparse, but a recent interview with the Miami New Times has shed some light on Blake’s progress.

Speaking to Sean Levisman, Blake has declared himself “probably about seventy percent done” with the new album. That Mercury pressure might be creeping in though: “I’m working hard and doing my best,” he continues, “I’m aware that people want to hear this record, so I’m not being complacent.“

“I should hope that [the new album] will be a step on, as much as the second one was to the first,” he adds in the interview. “I guess I’ve taken a focus on the songwriting again, even more closely, and I’m dabbling in some different production techniques, things I’ve developed.”

The possibility of hearing new material might not be so far off, either. “We’re going to be playing new things, to show people a taste of what it will sound like” Blake revealed when quizzed on his upcoming Miami show on December 5th. “There’s a number of songs I want to play, but only two or three I think we should, just because it’s early — we still have about five months before the record comes out. So we’ll hammer them out and see what people think.” No doubt they’ll end up online in one form or another.