“As a singer/songwriter I’m really enthused when I hear other people push the boundaries of what a singer/songwriter can do,” James says. “I guess Bon Iver’s a good example with his latest album. There’s just so much going on and if you listen to it from the start, you wouldn’t really think it’s a solo artist.”
Broken Lines was recorded with esteemed Australian producer Wayne Connolly. For an indication of the producer’s past success, you need merely scan up a couple of paragraphs. In recent years Connolly’s expert production has enhanced records by Pyke, Boy & Bear and The Paper Kites. Teaming up with the studio master allowed James to expand on the sparse texture of last year’s debut EP, All About to Change.
“I’d written all these songs but I wanted to make bigger arrangements for them,” he says. “So [Connolly] just gave me really good sonic ideas about how to put that all together. His way of working was to almost fiddle for a while; you get the beds of the tracks down and then you just fiddle with random instruments or synths or glockenspiels or something like that. He’s definitely a very talented producer and had some great ideas.”
The resulting EP is replete with choral vocal harmonies, string arrangements and electric instrumentation. Thanks to Connolly’s crafty touch, the added instrumentation doesn’t obscure James’ intimate songwriting voice. James has actually been playing live with a three-piece band for over a year now. Despite closely interacting with the band, he remains commander in chief.
“It’s a really personal thing for me, writing my music and writing songs. It’s still pretty much a solo project. I’ll take [the songs] to those guys and I’ll have a basic idea of what I want them to do and they’ll go from there.”
Broken Lines comfortably slots in alongside the work of James’ past tour mates. There’s a stylistic affinity, but he’s not merely aping from his peers. As for songwriting inspiration, he gets that from further afield.
“Over the last six months I’ve had an imprint of James Taylor’s face in my mind, just being like ‘what would he do in this situation?’ I think the main artist that I was listening to on the road, which influenced a few of the more acoustic-based songs, is Ryan Adams. There’s a song called Fight with Me, which is the only track on the EP that was consciously alternative-country sounding. I was just so in that headspace of listening to Ryan Adams, so that came out.”
James’ upward trajectory over the last 12 months allows him to support the EP with a relatively large-scale headline tour, which stops by The Corner next weekend. While he’s amassed a significant fan-base in a reasonably short period of time, he says it hasn’t felt like a swift glide.
“The whole thing’s been very gradual from the start of my touring cycle. When you’re touring consistently over a two-year period it’s hard work and it’s like a slow grind, rather than a quick rise.”
Either way, Broken Lines is evidence that James’ artistry is developing. So what comes next?
“After this cycle I’ll think about an album,” he says. “I don’t know if [the sound of the EP] will be the exact sound I go with for the album to come, but for this EP that collection of songs just really stuck together.”
BY AUGUSTUS WELBY
