DMCWORLD checks in with the prolific Canadian artist as he releases his new single via BMG. With writing and producing credits for the likes of Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, Kelis, Calvin Harris and Nelly Furtado, ‘This Time’ marks his first release of the new decade. We dive in…
Hi James, welcome to DMC World! Tell us about your new single ’This Time’ and the inspiration behind it?
Hi DMC! The song is about living in the moment, all we have is ‘This Time’. At the time of writing it, the subject matter would have pertained to relationships. Now with what’s happening in the world today, I would say the message is to take the time to appreciate the moment. Live it now as we don’t know whats around the corner tomorrow. My goal with the sound of the record was to bring an uplifting feel good sound to it. Get people off the couch and dancing!
How did the collaboration with Lil Eddie come about?
I met Eddie during a writing session at my studio in LA, this was the first song we wrote together. We reconnected in London whilst he was working with Simon Cowell on X Factor and decided instead of pitching the song to other artists, we would do it ourselves . I was looking for the right song to re-launch my solo artist career and this was the right one. When my good friend and A&R took a listen to the record, he said I want to sign this pretty much on the spot. That affirmed to me that the song had something special and was the right one to release first.
You’ve had an illustrious career in music so far, including winning a Juno Award and signing as a writer for Calvin Harris in 2012 amongst many accomplishments – when did you realise music was a career you wanted to pursue?
I knew from a young age that music would be it for me. It came naturally to me and I would spend all my time as a kid learning everything I could about music . From learning to play various instruments, production techniques, learning to DJ. I used to reverse engineer records, remake the songs, that was the way I learned production . Back when I was learning online resources (YouTube) didn’t exist, you learnt by experimenting.
What has been the highlight of your career up until this point?
Taking my parents to the Juno awards will always be a highlight . For me it was a way to say thank you for believing and supporting me across all those years.
How did the collaboration with Pete Tong’s Heritage Orchestra project manifest?
I have had the pleasure of working with Pete for many many years now on various musical projects. Pete mentioned to me that he was looking to do some originals for the 3rd installment of the album and if I would be interested in contributing to the project, I welcomed the opportunity. Watching the show at the O2 arena and seeing the songs I worked on come to life was an amazing feeling.
How are you coping with the current isolation climate, as a producer are you finding yourself more productive musically?
Some days are very productive other days not so much. The silver lining for me during this time is it has given me a chance to go back through old material and bring it back to life. Another positive for me is getting lost in new technology, learning new software, trying out new styles of music. I look at this time as a great opportunity to learn.
What can we expect next from you for the rest of 2020?
A lot of new music! Building out my solo artist project. I just finished a remix for Armand Van Helden’s song ‘Give Me Your Loving’, I have a project with Ali Love, titled ‘Star Child 1’, a throwback to the disco house type vibe of the late 90’s/early 2000’s which is forthcoming on BMG…
