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James Heather

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For the Irish firefighter, see James Heather (firefighter).

James Heather
James Heather
James Heather
Background information
BornSouthampton, UK
GenresModern classical, ambient, electronic
OccupationMusician
InstrumentPiano
Years active2017–present
LabelsAhead Of Our Time
Websitewww.jamesheather.com

James Heather (born 16 March 1980) is a British pianist and composer based in London. He releases music on Ninja Tune founders Coldcut’s other record label Ahead Of Our Time. Heather released his debut album, Stories From Far Away On Piano, on 18 August 2017.[1][2] Heather followed up with the album Reworks in December 2018.[3] Heather released his second studio album, Invisible Forces, in 2022.[4] As of June 2019, Heather curates and hosts the monthly Moving Sounds radio show on Soho Radio.[5]

His composition style, which Heather calls “Pulse Music”, puts his faith in human instinct and fluid dynamics over notation or a metronome dictating what might happen, evolving music through improvisations over time and gradually moulding what will be the final recorded arrangement.[6]

Early life

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Heather was born in Southampton. As a child, his grandfather taught him composition and how to manipulate the tuning of piano strings, whilst his grandmother on the other side used to dabble in improvisations.

At the age of 11 he started writing his own compositions inspired by a love of Ludwig Van Beethoven and Claude Debussy, his favorite composers. From his parents’ garden he was also able to overhear his older neighbour, who had set up a Acid House pirate radio station and this also inspired him in his early compositions.[7][8]

With this classical and jazz grounding and using the structure, ambience, and melody from electronic and post-rock music, he created a fresh take to solo piano music.[9][10]

Road traffic accident

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In 2008, Heather nearly died after he was involved in a road traffic accident with a cement mixer while cycling, leaving him in a coma and in intensive care. His finger was skewed in the crash, and he wondered whether he would ever be able to play piano as well again. He remarked at the time that "when I eventually started to recover, I began taking my musical sketches more seriously. I found solitude channeling my feelings into compositions."[11][1]

In 2023, James Heather worked with the T. S. Eliot award winning poet Roger Robinson, alongside Penelope Trappes and Specimens to write Hidden Angel (Hackney Road Studio Session) on the 15th anniversary of the accident, it was a rework of his own solo piano composition Hidden Angel, which was a letter of forgiveness in musical form to the Cement Mixer driver.[12]

Career

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Heather has collaborated with Dawn Richard, Mumdance and Roger Robinson (King Midas Sound),[13] played piano on Coldcut's Autumn Leaves track from 2021,[14] did an official rework of Ninja Tune act The Cinematic Orchestra,[15] and played on bills with Laura Marling, Jóhann Jóhannsson and Lubomyr Melnyk.[16] Additionally, he has also played at festivals such as Glastonbury, Wilderness and Seachange among others.[17]

Heather's first release in 2017 was Modulations: EP1, seven tracks written in various headspaces’ on Coldcut's Ahead Of Our Time label.[18] His debut album in 2017 was Stories From Far Away On Piano. This was a more unified conceptual piece of work and the album concept centered on Heathers interpretations of real-world news stories.[19] The album received reviews from The Line Of Best Fit, The Arts Desk, Loud and Quiet, Mixmag, Uncut, Exclaim, Mojo and others.[20][21][22][23] The album reached number 14 in the official Billboard Classical Crossover Albums chart.[24] Heather followed up with the Reworks album in December 2018. The album contained a selection of tracks from Modulations: EP 1 and Stories From Far Away On Piano, and includes reworks by DJ Seinfeld, Mary Lattimore, and Sarah Davachi, and new additional string quartet versions by Heather himself. The album was released on Ninja Tune founders Coldcut's original label, Ahead Of Our Time.[3][25] In May 2019, Heather performed at that year's Green Man in Crickhowell, Wales.[26]

Heather released the EP Modulations: EP2 on 28 May 2021 on Ahead Of Our Time.[27][28][29][30] In October 2021, Heather curated a mix called Classical Focus for the BBC.[31] In November 2021, Heather released an EP with Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto.[32] In 2022, Heather released his second album Invisible Forces on the Ahead Of Our Time label. The album focuses on becoming aware of invisible forces around everyone. This was to help deepen the understanding of self and a person's connection to the world. The Invisible Forces album was reviewed in Clash, Financial Times, Mojo, Uncut, Electronic Sound and others.[7][33][34]

On 9 June 2022, Heather delivered a piano performance, premiered/hosted by Mahogany Sessions, a YouTube channel, combining two songs from his latest album, Invisible Forces, at the nightclub, Printworks warehouse in London, UK.[35]

On 26th October 2022 James Heather was asked to play the Steinway Series at London’s Royal Albert Hall.[36][37][38]

Invisible Forces was nominated for a Libera Award in the US for Best Classical Record in 2023.[39]

On March 29, 2023, James Heather was invited to contribute to the official Piano Day Compilation Vol.2, set up by Nils Frahm. Heather contributed the track ‘Borders’ which featured the artist Sinemis.[40]

James Heather released a new collection of reworks on November 3, 2023, for the Reworks: Vol2 album where artists including Mogwai, Voces8, Coldcut, KMRU, Abul Mogard and Nailah Hunter reimagined his work. The live video with Voces8 was chosen as Gramophone Magazines video of the day.[41][42]

Discography

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Albums

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  • Stories From Far Away On Piano, 2017
  • Reworks, 2018
  • Invisible Forces, 2022
  • Reworks: Vol2, 2023

EPs

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  • Modulations: EP1, 2017
  • Modulations: EP2, 2021

References

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  1. ^ a b "The Quietus | News | LISTEN: James Heather On Coldcut's Label". The Quietus. July 18, 2017. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  2. ^ "James Heather - Stories From Far Away on Piano". Headphone Commute. November 2, 2017. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "DJ Seinfeld, Mary Lattimore, Aparde, and More Remix James Heather on 'Reworks' Album". XLR8R. November 28, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  4. ^ "James Heather". Ninja Tune. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  5. ^ "MOVING SOUNDS with James Heather". Soho Radio. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  6. ^ admin (August 24, 2021). "James Heather returns to Ninja Tune's Ahead of Our Time imprint". Ransom Note. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  7. ^ a b "James Heather: Invisible Forces — dreamy, poignant, beautiful". Financial Times. April 22, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  8. ^ "15 questions | Interview | James Heather | Glimpses of Purity". www.15questions.net. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  9. ^ "James Heather on tracking down the perfect piano to share his story". composer.spitfireaudio.com. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  10. ^ "James Heather music download - Beatport". www.beatport.com. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  11. ^ "James Heather on tracking down the perfect piano to share his story". composer.spitfireaudio.com. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  12. ^ "Track/video : James Heather re-imagines his poignant track 'Hidden Angel' to uncover new dimensions". Backseat Mafia. August 8, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  13. ^ "Dawn and Mumdance". www.redbull.com. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  14. ^ "Ryuichi Sakamoto and James Heather feature on third EP from Coldcut's new compilation". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  15. ^ "THE CINEMATIC ORCHESTRA announce 'TO BELIEVE REMIXES' out 6th March". XS Noize | Online Music Magazine. February 18, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  16. ^ Staff, XLR8R (April 13, 2018). "Contemporary Pianist James Heather Presents Vinyl Release of Stories From Far Away On Piano LP". XLR8R. Retrieved June 17, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ "James Heather". Songkick. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  18. ^ "James Heather Channels A Sense Of Longing On 'And She Came Home'". Clash Magazine. June 6, 2017. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  19. ^ "There was hope in James Heather's song inspired by the Paris Climate Change agreement - until Trump". Loud And Quiet. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  20. ^ "James Heather beautifully blurs the line between broadcaster and performer". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  21. ^ "Stories From Far Away On Piano by James Heather reviews | Any Decent Music". www.anydecentmusic.com. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  22. ^ "CD: James Heather - Stories From Far Away on Piano". theartsdesk.com. August 2, 2017. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  23. ^ "James Heather Stories From Far Away on Piano | Exclaim!". exclaim.ca. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  24. ^ "Music". Billboard. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  25. ^ "Mary Lattimore Steps In To Re-Cast James Heather's Pensive Piano". Clash Magazine. October 26, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  26. ^ "8 standout moments from Green Man 2019". Crack Magazine. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  27. ^ "Modulations: EP2 by James Heather". Ninja Tune. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  28. ^ "James Heather - Modulations EP2". Clash Magazine. May 28, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  29. ^ Smith, Simon (May 28, 2021). "James Heather - Modulations: EP2 Review". Higher Plain Music. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  30. ^ "Modulating Through Sounds with London Composer James Heather". Sound of Life. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  31. ^ "BBC Sounds Mixes - Classical Focus, Composer and musician James Heather curates a musical journey to help your focus". BBC. October 4, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  32. ^ "Coldcut release new '@0' compilation EP featuring Ryuichi Sakamoto and James Heather". Crack Magazine. October 25, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  33. ^ "James Heather - Invisible Forces". Clash Magazine. April 21, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  34. ^ "Invisible Forces by James Heather". Ninja Tune. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  35. ^ James Heather - Ultraviolet / Forgotten Cities (Live Session at Printworks) | Mahogany, June 9, 2022, retrieved June 17, 2022
  36. ^ "Steinway Series". www.royalalberthall.com. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  37. ^ Nimesh (October 26, 2022). "The Steinway Series in the Elgar room at the Royal Albert Hall". Steinway. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  38. ^ "James Heather: 'classical music shouldn't only be establishment music'". Classical Music. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  39. ^ Aniftos, Rania (March 22, 2023). "Wet Leg Leads Nominations for 2023 Libera Awards". Billboard. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  40. ^ "Compilation Vol. 2". LEITER. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  41. ^ Roseblade, Nick (November 2, 2023). "James Heather – Reworks: Vol. 2 | Reviews". Clash. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  42. ^ "Video of the Day: VOCES8 perform Meant To Be". Gramophone. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
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