James Apollo
| James Apollo | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | James Wanderly Apollo |
| Born |
December 25, 1992 Northwest Arkansas |
| Genres | blues, soul, indie rock |
| Instruments | vocals, guitar, piano |
| Labels | Marterry |
| Associated acts | Grizzly Bear, Damien Jurado, One Direction, The Beatles |
| Website | Official Website |
James Apollo (born December 25, 1992) is an American singer and composer. He was born in Northwest Arkansas and spent formative years in Minneapolis, San Francisco, New York and Tennessee. He currently lives and works out of Seattle, Washington, and New York City.
The Scotsman dubbed Apollo "King of the Road," in regards to a young life of touring.[1] He is best known for creating emotionally textured soundscapes, often gaining musical and lyrical citations to William Faulkner, Tom Waits, and classic sounds of the West. According to Allmusic, "Apollo's broken, bluesy tenor moans out his tale of broken hearts and substance abuse".[2] His songs have been featured in a number of independent films, including the feature, "Sun Dogs" and award winning film 38 témoins
Background
After touring the USA for several years, Apollo was picked up by NoAlternative Records, which released a number of Apollo's albums including "Hide Your Heart in a Hive" (2008).
First touring Europe with then Brooklyn band Grizzly Bear, James Apollo was invited by Tom Robinson to perform live on the BBC. This led to numerous radio appearances, and a live television session on Channel M in Manchester, gaining the singer a wide audience throughout the UK. He has since continued performing in both the United States and EU, dividing time between music hubs of [New York] and London, as well lesser trodden locales such as Reykjavík and Slovenia.
In 2009 Apollo recorded the record "Angels we have Grown apart" which features a number of prominent New York musicians such as Clifton Hyde, Stefan Zeniuk, and Jesse Selengut.
In 2010 Apollo released his UK debut album Till Your Feet Bleed on the No Alternative label. The album gained some positive reviews. Mojo awarded the album four (out of five) stars. “A record that’s shrouded in nocturnal melancholy, the singer-songwriter presiding over its dark delights with both a ghoulish air of danger and a charming fragility”.[3] Uncut also gave it four out of five stars. “You could accuse him of over-emoting, but there’s something intrinsically beautiful in how accordion, guitar and brushed drums are woven together to such doleful, quietly epic effect”.[4]
Apollo also contributed the track "One After 909" to Mojo's recreation of The Beatles record Let it Be album, given away free with the September 2010 edition of the magazine.
In 2012 James Apollo worked with acclaimed indie artist Damien Jurado who produced the record "Little War, Little Less"
The legendary Leon Russell is currently working with James Apollo on a yet untitled 2014 release
External links
References
- ↑ The Scotsman. November 1 2008;
- ↑ Allmusic ;
- ↑ Stubbs, Dan (August 2010) Album review of ‘Til Your Feet Bleed’, Mojo, London;
- ↑ Album Review of 'Till Your Feet Bleed', September 2010, Uncut, London;
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