Fresh perspectives on his quiet revolution... Nestled deep in the furrows of wintertime, insularity becomes the norm as cold air hits the face. In the glacially slow season halfway between the festive period and the dawn of spring, a young but ominous figure drifts in the shadows and deals in icy bouts of harsh introspection. James Blake possesses a soulful, elegiac voice and an innate ability to paint portraits of his state of mind which, ten years ago today, manifested themselves on his generation-defining debut album, fittingly self-titled. The living situation in which an artist births a record under is perhaps its most defining aspect. When writing 'Blue', Canadian folk singer Joni Mitchell had recently said goodbye to one of the great loves of her life and exiled herself in various locations away from music, resulting in a legendarily brutal set of break-up songs.