ABOUT
James is a UK-based music composer film & TV, as well as a skilled drummer, sound editor/mixer, orchestrator, arranger and producer. He has experience composing music for documentaries, short independent films, theatre productions, iOS games, theme music and adverts. In addition to his own individual work, James also co-founded Undercurrent Music Productions in 2020 with fellow composer Jessie van den Boorn, regularly co-composing music together for use in various short films and for global production companies.
His music can be heard on programmes broadcast by BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 5, Disney+, Discovery+ and Channel 4, in addition to multiple global film festivals. In addition to commissioned work, James also composes for a variety of production music libraries, including ALIBI Music, No Sheet Music and Synctracks.
COMPOSITIONAL STYLE
James' compositional style is very fluid and varied, often using a combination of electroacoustic and instrumental composing techniques developed throughout his career to create unique and original elements within his music. As a result, James' approach to scoring to picture, radio or theatre is very malleable and makes each project fresh and exciting. His ability to adapt his compositional style and palette to suit any genre of film or audio-visual project comes from a genuine love of films and music, where he continually tries to improve his craft by keeping on top of the latest trends in both the movie and music industries.
His drumming/percussion background naturally tends to influence his music making, infusing it with a level of rhythmic intrigue and complexity across whichever instrument he is writing for as each one interlocks with another.
TECHNICAL SKILLS
As a composer and producer James regularly uses ProTools as his choice of DAW, but also has experience with Logic Pro X. He is equally at home working with live musicians as he is with using virtual instruments to create his scores, often refreshing his palette of sounds to keep up with the ever-changing demands of the industry. His work as a sound editor and mixer has also allowed James to add effects, mix and master to a professional standard, using the latest tools and tech from companies such as Slate Digital, Steven Slate Audio and Waves. His eye for detail and presentation means he can produce clean, professional-standard notated scores using Sibelius. As a result, James has advanced skills in professional score writing, orchestration, instrument recording, mixing/mastering, editing and general music production.
EDUCATION
James completed his MA in Composition of Music for Film and Television at the University of Bristol in 2017, where he received a distinction having been tutored by esteemed film and TV composers Martin Kiszko, William Goodchild and Richard Blackford. He also graduated from the University of Manchester (2012-15) with a First Class degree in Music, where he studied electroacoustic and instrumental composition, film composition, sound design and solo performance.
