Born in September 1977, James was raised with music. Encouraged by his father, who played Jazz drums, he took-up several instruments beginning with the Piano, then the Flute but then it wasn't until he got his hands on the Alto Saxophone where he found his first love. Entering his teens, James had acquired a taste for Indie as well as 60s & 70s Psych/Rock, and picking up the guitar, formed a band at school.
Before long James discovered House, Hardcore and Jungle, making weekly trips to raves and clubs in Cambridge, London and East Anglia. It wasn't long before he started to mess around on his friends' turntables, and in 1995 managed to get his first pair of decks. It was while at university in Nottingham that James first started playing out, at the time of the more melodic, deeper side of Drum n Bass which he spearheaded locally with his 'Bassic' night, viewed by many as the 'Swerve' of the Midlands, welcoming the likes of Fabio to the club on regular occasions. He also started working in the award-winning Selectadisc record store, becoming further exposed to exciting modern dance sounds and began playing more alternative / freestyle / backroom sets.
Moving to London in 2000 he continued his work and life in music, initially again at Selectadisc, then Timewarp Distribution and subsequently at Phonica Records and Arision Recordings, where his eyes were even more opened to the new wave of House and Techno hitting our shores. Hooking up with some old friends from Cambridge he launched 'secretsundaze' in 2001. This legendary Sunday afternoon party with its colourful, cosmopolitan crowds and cutting-edge music policy soon became the talk of the town and in 2005 both Mixmag and Time Out awarded it 'Best UK Club Night'. The secret was also out in Europe, with hugely successful secretsundaze parties now taking place in Ibiza (Blue Marlin, & Gala Night) Barcelona (during Sonar) and Austria (Snowbombing). With a reputation for using risqué / off-the-cuff venues, the club has welcomed some of the world's most renowned djs & producers with the likes of Ricardo Villalobos, Carl Craig, Trevor Jackson and Steve Bug all appearing over the years. More recently, top European clubs such as Panorama Bar (Berlin) Robert Johnson (Frankfurt) & Magazzinni Generali (Milan) have all played host to rocking secretsundaze parties.
In 2004 James launched 'Go!Zilla' and as co-promoter, programmer and resident dj it was the perfect avenue for him to showcase and pursue far more diverse sounds and tastes, incorporating more Disco and live bands into the party realm inviting the likes of the Glimmers, Rub n' Tug and Optimo as well as people such as Ame, Damian Lazarus & Dixon to join him. Here he currently holds residencies at Cargo & East Village, both in Shoreditch.
James has a distinct djing style, playing broadly what you would describe as deep House & Techno, often borrowing from his freestyle background, preferring to move things around rather than follow one linear groove. You will also notice James' solid musical background in his sets and productions usually favouring strong melodies and warm, organic sounds. His style hasn't gone unnoticed and he regularly plays some of the best clubs and parties around the world, highlights including Cocoon (London), Circo Loco (London), We Love Sundays (Space, Ibiza), Module (Tokyo), Dama de Fera (Rio de Janiero), Propaganda (Moscow), Week-end (Berlin), Manumission (Ibiza) Nitsa & City Hall (Barcelona), Showcase (Paris), Morphine (Hamburg), and in UK Fabric, The End, Bugged Out!, Electric Chair, Basics, Asylum, Boutique, Superfreq, Faith, and Global Gathering, V Festival, Bestival, Hi-Fi, Latitude, Tales of The Jackalope, Bloom and Isle of Wight festivals.
In 2004 James returned his attention to writing and recording music, this time working with friend Dan Berkson. 2005 saw their debut release, a remix for Fine Records of Italian X-Rays. Whilst referencing the past and with a foot firmly in the future, a deep, melodic and emotive hypnotic cord connect their tracks and subsequent remixes for the likes of Spektrum have been licensed to compilations by Loco Dice, DJ T, Karotte, Alex Neri and Mar-T.
September 2007 marked 10 years since James began djing, and the month aptly saw the release of his first compilation / mix CD –'secretsundaze Volume 1', distributed worldwide through Amato Distribution on his own label, 'secretsundaze Music', which he co-manages and A & Rs. The same month also saw the release of his debut original track, 'Chariots' on leading UK label, Simple Records which has released music of the pedigree of Mathew Jonson, John Tejada and My My in the past. The follow up to that, 'The Source', was recently released, winning the highly prestigious accolade of 'Record of The Week' at Phonica Records and also hailed as 'House Release of the Month' there too. James is currently remixing a track of Robert Owen's set for release on Compost Records very soon and he and his secretsundaze partner Giles will soon begin to mix secretsundaze volume 3 due for release in 2008. Watch this space.
For all booking enquiries please contact david@airlondon.org.uk / 07815 718726
jaaames! nice to hear from you buddy. yes of course, lets hook up. i'm not sure if i have to play before or after sven but i'll keep you informed. maybe we can have some fish'n chips before or something else.. much luv from berlin!! tob i
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