There’s a lot of discussion around the fact that at the ripe old age of 31, Brisbane electro-soul singer Jarryd James has only just achieved success.
The fact is, 31 is hardly old – and as reflected in his releases to date, having a few extra years of wisdom over his 20-something contemporaries gives James an edge.
The sum of his maturity and experiences is hauntingly developed in his music, and has allowed him opportunities to work with industry heavyweights early on in his career. Since the release last September of his album Thirty One, James has written five additional songs to attach to that album for a US release under the title High, collaborating in the production room with mutually mature connoisseurs Mikky Ekko (Rihanna, David Guetta) and Tobias Jesso Jr. (Adele, Sia).
Although High will be James’ full-length American debut, he promises these new songs aren’t exclusive to American audiences. “All the new songs that weren’t on the original album will be released as an EP in Australia [also called High], so it’s only a matter of time that everyone has all the music,” he says.
James’ new producers have an understanding of how his music will make American audiences twitch, but that might leave fans wondering if the Australian High EP will have a different edge to the original release. James’ approach to what he wanted for High was relatively straightforward.
“I don’t think the album I put out in September has any definitive sound to it, which I kind of like and wanted to do on purpose,” he says. “Whenever I work with a producer, I have my own strong opinions on the textures and tones I like, because at the end of the day, I’m going to be performing this stuff live. I’m never going to have production in a song that doesn’t feel right to myself. I don’t think High feels any different, it just feels like a continuous work to me.”
James has been working with Ekko and Jesso on the material he originally wrote with his first team, and the element of life experience is evident on the resulting five songs. ‘1000x’ was the first track James had penned with producer Joel Little, and though it didn’t make the original album, it makes better sense contextually on High. The emotive exchange that comes with experimenting with a different vocal style has worked well for James, and ‘1000x’ conveys a lot of emotion – it’s a sensual track oozing evidence of the singer’s simplistic and unconscious approach to songwriting and collaboration.
“‘1000x’ was the first song I ever wrote with Joel. To be honest, it was a bit of an experiment to see if we clicked as people, musicians and music-makers. I just wanted to write a love song at the time. We had half a day in Auckland and came out with whatever was in our heads at the time.
“I think I write a lot of tragic, bittersweet songs. I think it’s because I spent a lot of my childhood as a loner, wrote a lot of music, read a lot of books. In your early 20s, that’s when most people make a lot of mistakes in relationships and I guess I had that stored up in my subconscious.”
This additional release has given James a great opportunity to push himself as a performer. Thanks to the encouragement and energy of Ekko, James moves away from his trademark sound to execute new soul styles in the likes of ‘Claim My Love’.
“When I sing, I can’t really say it’s a conscious thing,” he says. “It feels good when I sing, feels nicer, more natural to sing falsetto – [it] suits my tone better. That song in particular I wrote with Mikky Ekko. He’s a really interesting guy. We got in the studio and it was the first time we had a session and he got it in his head to challenge me a bit. Mikky sings a lot of strong, powerful vocal stuff at the moment, so I think it’s a combo of him challenging me and what he’s up to.”
James’ career is now a continuous stream of writing and playing, and he is remarkably humble about the entire experience. There’s not a hint of exhaustion in his voice, only humility and an air of shyness about him when discussing his writing process, success and his remarkable voice.
“I see this whole ride I’m on as being something I’m so fortunate to have,” he says. “What got me here is what I’m doing naturally, and I’m going to keep doing that until it gets to a point where I feel I want to do something different.”
With no definitive awareness of the process that goes in to how he puts together his music, James seems content to go with the flow and pick up what he can from the artists he works with.
“I’m surrounded by great musicians and I’m inclined to incorporate what they’re doing. I don’t want to veer off the path and reinvent myself, not quite yet. I just want to keep doing what I do and get better.”
High isout now through Universal.
