Every artist needs room to grow after they've sown the seeds. For Leifur James, songwriter, producer and purveyor of a noirish palette of electronic experimentation, breaking his bond with London and leaving for Lisbon, the City of Light, gave him the space to create. Over the past few years, James has steadily built a reputation as a vital new voice in electronic music on both sides of the Atlantic. He's sold out the Barbican and Village Underground in London and a European tour, as well as being named Pitchfork and KCRW's 'best new music' in the US. And his music has been championed by the likes of tastemakers Gilles Peterson, Mary Anne Hobbs, Bradley Zero and actor Cillian Murphy, and from BBC 6Music to NTS.
James is interested in sonic dynamics, the light and the shade, reflecting the contrasts of real life.
A lot of music nowadays is as loud and as compressed as possible. It’s instant impact for commercial gain. But the dynamic records, where things are really loud at points and then really quiet, if someone is brave enough to do that, I love that. I find it challenging and interesting. I like records that give you the unexpected.
His third album "Magic Seeds" illuminates James as a rare composer who is capable of taking listeners to great highs and plunging them into inky depths; moody and moving music that feels equally airy. It's an ambitious record that could work both in open spaces and in dank clubs. But more than anything, it feels as if it's living and breathing; a sonic collage of James' past few years whirled into one.