Cultural life: James Blake, singer

James Blake, Mercury Prize winner (PA)

Music

Warpaint's upcoming album is the first thing I've heard in a while that's made me sonically and poetically jealous. It has headspace, but it also has snap. I'm also enjoying a track by Chance the Rapper and Nosaj Thing called “Paranoia”. Chance brings a pensive shade of early Eminem, and I was glad to see Nosaj Thing appear with those striking chords.

Visual Arts

After finding a bewitching poster for the film Stalker in a shop called Posteritati in NYC, I went on a hunt for other film posters. For me it was Polish posters that appealed the most. They're famous for making absolutely no sense, which artistically makes them timeless, and in my mind they're well worth looking at. Jean-Michel Folon's work is a good place to start.

Film

I've been watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Lines from the script like “I don't want to talk to you no more, you empty-headed animal food trough whopper” never get old.

Theatre

I'm reading a play by a friend of mine called Joe Harbot, whose play is called Potholes. I love reading and watching his work and hope many more will soon get the chance to. He's an observational man with a sharp wit.

James Blake's Mercury award-winning album, 'Overgrown', is out now