Richard James (musician)

This article is about the Welsh musician. For Richard D. James, the musician with the pseudonym Aphex Twin, see Aphex Twin.

Richard James is a guitarist, bassist and singer-songwriter from Pembrokeshire, Wales. He was a founder member of the band Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, who split up in 2006. He performs and records as a solo artist, and more recently as part of the band Pen Pastwn.[1]

Career

James was with Gorky's Zygotic Mynci throughout the band's lifespan, from 1991 to 2006, and appears on all their albums, initially mostly as a bassist. After John Lawrence left the band, James took Lawrence's place as guitarist. James wrote, and handles lead vocals on, some later Gorky's songs.

His first solo album, The Seven Sleepers Den, appeared in 2006.

His second album was released on 21 June 2010 from Gwymon Records. Called We Went Riding, it features the talents of Euros Childs and Cate Le Bon.[2]

In April 2012, James released his third album, Pictures In The Morning, also on Gwymon Records. The label calls it "a return to quieter, more intimate music."[1] The album features James's signature acoustic finger-picking and "the occasional sorrowful violin line";[3] stylistically, it's a return to the "earthily psychedelic folk-rock" of The Seven Sleepers Den.[4] As James prefers, the album was recorded in various rooms of houses, rather than a recording studio.[1] Former Gorky's bandmate Euros Childs again contributed backing vocals on three tracks.[5]

James curates the musical sides of both the annual Laugharne Weekend festival, and the more frequent In Chapters, a Cardiff-based music and literary event. His band Pen Pastwn evolved from the In Chapters house band.[1]

Richard James' fourth solo album, All The New Highways, was released in February 2015

Solo Discography

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Gwymon
  2. ↑ Wales Online
  3. ↑ The MMP: The definitive guide to music in Wales
  4. ↑ The Line of Best Fit
  5. ↑ Artrocker

External links