podcasts Sounding Off with Hayden James
When it comes to laying down a smooth track, electronic musician and singer Hayden James has come a long way from his humble beginnings DJing birthday parties around his native Sydney, Australia. Only a couple years ago James laid down his first track and suddenly became the most blogged song on Hype Machine. Now the ascendant artist has a deal with record label Future Classic and his first Asian tour on the docket.
On his way through Asia, James paid a visit to W Bali’s Sound Suite studios for the second installment of our Sounding Off podcast (notorious DJ duo Classixx was first). Listen up as James gets real about his bright beginnings, his artistic inspirations and those big ambitions that just keep on growing.
As far as his sound is concerned, James describes his style as “extremely simplistic.” Much of his remix work is focused on paring back and trimming the fat from tracks, leaving what he calls “solid sounds” (He claims to have been influenced by an Empire of the Sun remix amidst the Sound Suite’s many tools and toys.) For inspiration, the artist is all about Daft Punk and his Future Classic label mates, like Flume and Touch Sensitive, but he’s also a fan of funkier acts like Chromeo, Tame Impala and Phoenix.
With a solo project that is still very much a work in progress, he knows the trials and tribulations of the industry, but is determined to fight through them, telling those hoping to break into the music world: “Don’t. But if you do, just keep going.”