One artist that is splashing in all the right ponds to make massive sound waves in 2006 is James Holden. Known to many for his earlier works including trance hit ‘Nothing’ and the chunky techno earthquake of ‘A Break in the Clouds’ (the debut release on his own Border Community label) Holden has put together a CD compilation fittingly titled ‘James Holden At The Controls’ for Resist Music.
His DJ sets were often an extension of his studio sessions, with a unique driving sound that traversed various genres whilst maintaining a flowing grove utilising sounds created by artists from all over the world. Talking about the mix, he reflects on a successful licensing mission and the wide array of sounds we can expect:“The idea was just to make a compilation that I'd think is good”, states James by matter of fact. “Mostly I hate DJ mixes, so that’s the main thing that influenced this - trying to justify my 2 CDs with a load of music that I really love. Through Resist we've been able to get permission to use some tracks I never dreamt I'd be able to get, so it's turned out being a cross section of music that I'm really happy with. Lot’s of it comes from the little family of friends around Border Community. And recommendations from my hairdresser!” he says jokily. “And of course the depths of my iTunes folder - things I've been listening to for 10 years wanting to put on a mix CD.”
A unique aspect of the CD is its make-up and the way in which Oxford Graduate James has utilised technology to give the CD continuity throughout and its own finish: “The other thing about this CD is how I put it together. “It's not just geek-toy-love, because how you make music always affects the outcome. Using a DJ controller I've been developing with some engineering friends, along with a heap of software and custom hacks of things, I managed to make a setup where I could make a good representation of what my style (as a producer and as a club DJ) is about, and could do it live. So the CD has a few mistakes in it but that's totally unimportant, because the feel of it is right and the noise and chaos suits me. More importantly the music is right - the way things go together and how one track leads you to the next. Which is the point of a mix CD, I think. All this music, to me, belongs together. It doesn’t matter that I've mixed from psy-trance into 70s krautrock because the feel of those songs makes it make sense. They make each other better by being together musically. In that way (as well as the gratuitous digital noise) the CD fits with me too - I dont want to fit into any scene either.”
Expect the mix to include the classic minimalism of Plastikman to the lo-fi electronica of Fennesz, Aphex Twin nestling next to Malcolm Middleton the cultural dub of Massive Attack v. Mad Professor melting into Death in Vegas, new German aesthetics from BPitch Control rising stars Apparat and Paul Kalkbrenner, new school electro from Geneva’s Water Lilly, trance inducing ‘lost’ gems and of course the odd smattering of Border Community exclusives from Petter, Holden and label buddy Nathan Fake.
Still only 26 James is at the forefront of his sound. With more DJ bookings than ever before, his own buzz label Border Community and ‘At The Controls’ due for release on March 27th, could this be the year of the Holden.
At The controls Worldwide Tour
Fri. 17/02 Cocoon Club,Frankfurt, DE
Sat. 18/02 Loft, Lausanne, CH
Sun. 19/02 Boutique, Thessaloniki, GR
Sat 25/02 Rex Club, Paris, FR
Sat. 04/03 Berghain, Berlin, DE
Sat. 11/03 Doornroosje , Nijmegen, NL
Fri. 17/03 Loft, Barcelona, ES
Sat. 18/03 Fuse, Brussels, BE
Fri. 24/03 Wintermusic Conference, Miami, USA
Sat. 25/03 Wintermusic Conference, Miami, USA
Mon. 27/03 Cocoon @ WMC, Miami USA
Fri. 31/03 Pressure, Glasgow, UK
Sat. 01/04 Fabric, London, UK
Fri. 07/04 TDK Festival, Milan, IT
Sat. 08/04 Time Warp Mannheim, DE
Fri. 14/04 Atlantic Southwharf Festival,Melbourne, AU
Fri. 14/04 Brisbane, AU
Sat. 15/04 Home, Sydney, AUS
Fri. 21/04 Womb, Tokyo, JP
Sat. 22/04 Triangle Club, Osaka JP
Fri. 28/04 New York, USA
Sat. 29/04 USA
Sun. 30/04 USA