LAMP Weekly Mix #56 featuring Branded James

LAMP Weekly Mix #56 featuring Branded James

This week we're excited to be featuring another local artist, Branded James. This talented producer has been a staple of our sets and playlists recently and with his recent release 'Balboa' we are sure to see much more promise from him. The mix opens with warm welcoming arms as Sebastian Carter and Bonobo take us through some beautiful grooves. The mix changes pace slight and drops into some bigger dancefloor beats with XYconstant and Poupon really driving through some amazing deep house flavors. We get hit with a ownderful Seth Troxler reworks that sets up nicely for the 'Feel The Fire' remix we featured yesterday. KANT and Amtrac take us home to round our an exciting musical journey that makes 30 minutes feel like a blissful eternity.If you haven't listened to 'Balboa' yet we must insist, and don't skimp on the volume.MR PUZL chatted with the producer briefly about his career and where his creative process is taking him.MR PUZL: You keep details to a minimum on your online profiles... Tell us a little bit about yourself, or an interesting anecdote if you feel so inclined.Branded James: Hey whats up, I'm Brandon, and I make music under the name Branded James. I live with my girlfriend in LA, have a full time Audio Visual and IT job, and probably party too much!MP: Your name has an interesting commentary around it. In a literal sense, it seems your having some fun with the whole 'branding' side of being a DJ/Producer. Was this intentional?James: No, not intentional at all. It was just an offshoot of my name that I thought sounded sort of interesting, I'm actually terrible at branding myself! MP: You grew in/around San Francisco. What were some of your earliest music influences and experiences?James: I grew up in the Bay Area listening to puck rock, hardcore, and metal. There was a really great local hardcore scene in the late 90s and early 2000s, and being a part of that probably had the biggest influence on me. I still have a lot of those DIY ethics and admire the idea of authentic underground music. On a completely opposite and slightly embarrassing note, I went to a Third Eye Blind concert with some friends in 1999 at the Greek Theater in Berkeley and that had a lasting impression on me as well. I hated them and their cheesy singles, but ended up falling in love with that first album after that night. Sex, drugs, and weird guitar tunings, I was super into it.MP: How long have you been producing for?James: I've been messing with DAW's since college, but only started putting out tracks about 3 or so years ago. I grew up playing guitar in bands so the whole production side was very foreign and quite intimidating for a long while. I miss the camaraderie and group dynamic of playing in a band, but I can be very opinionated and a bit of a pain in the ass to work with at times, so it's nice to have the solo producer avenue.MP: You dropped a new track this year, 'Balboa'. This seems to be a departure from some of your previous work. We're you inspired by something recently that channeled this deeper side to your work?James: I've actually had that tune lingering around for probably 9 months now. It took a while to get in to a place where I felt like it was ready, and its probably less light hearted than most of my other music, but you have to follow the creative flow and see where you end up sometimes. I'm a big fan of Four Tet, and I feel like you can see some influence from him on this track.MP: Your tracklist for this weeks mix has some nice variety to it. Is this a collection of sounds that are influencing you at the moment. Who/what else gives you creative fodder for your productions?James: Yeah I tried to capture a few of the sounds and vibes that I am into right now, some introspective stuff, and also some higher energy tracks. I love a good vocal and have always been a 'melody before message' kind of listener.MP: We've been a fan of your remixes for a little while, will we see a few more collaborations and reworks as well as some Balboa-esque originals?James: Yes, there are always tracks in the works, but as you can probably tell from my Balboa timeline, I often work quite slowly. I've always been a bit of a starving artist, and now that I'm not starving anymore I feel like my art has suffered a bit. I'm really hoping to get re-inspired, refocussed, and finish a lot more music this year.

Tracklist

1. Gallant - Jupiter Grayscale (Sebastian Carter Remix)2. Bonobo - Flashlight3. XYconstant - Her Eyes4. Poupon - So Long5. Douglas Greed - Driven (Seth Troxler Remix)6. Eli & Fur - Feel the Fire (Journeyman Remix)7. Marco Darko - One Night Stand (KANT Remix)8. Shakka - When Will I See You Again (Amtrac Remix)For more sounds from Branded James check out his soundcloud below:Enjoy,LAMP