James Blake Talks 'Combating Stress' Through Music: 'I Encourage More of That Conversation'
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For James Blake, the topic of mental health continues to be an important aspect of his music.
The British musician, 33, has long been open about his own struggles and has made it a personal mission to use his platform as a means of eliminating the stigma surrounding mental health issues.
"I encourage more of that conversation," he tells PEOPLE. "On the internet, maybe in the workplace, in a lot of people's daily lives, it has become more of a conversation."
While he gets the sense that these discussions are "less taboo nowadays, especially in this generation," he notes that "we've got further to go" to fully eliminate the "toxic" burden many feel holding in their struggles.
His mission continues with his latest work for the Sprite Limelight program, which sees the Grammy-winning artist creating a hook under the brand's "Heat Happens" platform, which focuses on holding strong in the face of adversity and, as Blake puts it, "combating stress."
That hook then provides the basis for a series of new songs from three global musicians, including American rapper/singer Coi Leray, who infuse it with their own influences and story about overcoming hardships.
Leray's track debuted Friday and, as Blake explains, his hook at the heart of it came to him "fairly quickly" despite having never taken on a project like this.
"It's a subject that I've written about a lot in the past and felt fairly natural to me, so it was fairly straightforward," he explains about the collaborative undertaking, which he calls a bit of a "blind date" as he didn't know the artists who would be participating before creating the track.
"I didn't have any precedent of doing anything like this before, so I just thought, well, this will be exciting," Blake adds, noting that while he has become well-known for his work with artists like JAY-Z, Beyoncé, SZA and Frank Ocean, not every musical partnership comes without hurdles.
"Luckily, the artists that I ended up working with are all fantastic, all sweethearts, and just willing to work together," he reveals. "You never really know how a collaborator will be, but it all turned out great."
Blake has had a busy 2022 with the release of his latest album, Wind Down, in March, an ambient music collection designed to improve sleep. He admits that he is "continually toiling away" on new projects so he doesn't "get bored," but can struggle to turn off the music side of his brain in an effort to stay present.
"I sometimes forget to actually live and when I allow myself to just go on a trip and do something completely outside of music like connecting with nature, I'm way more creative," he says. "So again, important not to go down the rabbit hole too much."
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He points out that he's still trying to strike the balance between career and personal life, and one thing that helps is his longtime relationship with girlfriend Jameela Jamil. The busy pair have been together since 2015 and their bond forces him to make time outside of work.
"She's very good at that and you just have to," he says with a pause. "If you're going to be together, you have to make space for each other and time for each other. Otherwise, it just can't really work."
