Jelani Blackman has been on our radar for the past year or two. As one of Britain's most distinct young voices he's carved out a space all of his own: one of dark black and blue-tinged soul, dingy basements, rain-soaked weekday nights, a tiny glimmer of light expanding into the distance.Today he releases the video for new track "Follow", a kind of swaggering march toward an impending apocalypse, told with a knowing wink (watch below). For those who may not already be aware of Blackman or need a reminder, his 1-4 EP debut EP from last year presented certain aspects of his personality and his sound – each track acting as a snapshot and a puzzle piece of something larger. "Follow" continues with this overarching vision while also acting as an end point to what we've heard from Blackman already."This feels a lot closer in terms of what I want to do and what it is going to be. But it's still not the finished and refined product," he says with a laugh, of his brand new 5-8 EP (also released today) from which "Follow" is taken. "It's a continuation of 1-4," he goes on, telling me how "Follow" comes naturally after this as-yet-unreleased EP's previous singles, "One More Time" and "Not You" – two more songs that add further detail to Blackman's vision.On "Follow" in particular however, Blackman is also wrapping up the last two-year period. The video, shot in black and white, continues on from the panchromatic visuals of "Submarine" and "Twenty / Three". "That's something that I wanted to keep," Blackman says, "to link them together… to feel like this is all part of the same stage."The track itself picks up where the darker foundation of Blackman's previous work left off, while also carefully paving things over with a sense of light-hearted fun. He manages to wrap up that blend of light and dark in a bold, confident sheen. There are lines about having "no patience for the pythons / might move out to Panama", of not wanting to be a hero, of being a stereo while everyone else is on mono. Speaking on this, Blackman says: "It's a dark outlook and perspective on things, but not with too dark of a tone. It's musically dark but the lyrics are fun – not 'fun', as in funny, they're cheeky. I'm not trying to make everybody feel like the world is ending, I'm wanting them to feel a mood."Ultimately however, the central theme of not being a follower is what sits at the bedrock of everything Blackman has achieved so far. "I never followed, never went down any of the routes that were easily available to me. I could have pigeonholed myself but I didn't. So I feel like this is a strong end to that phase of what I do," he says. Black and white phase locked off, by the end of the year Blackman says he'll be emerging in full colour.You can find Ryan on Twitter.
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