Loraine James | |
|---|---|
 Loraine James making her NYC debut at The Knockdown Center on May 1, 2022 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Whatever the Weather |
| Born | 18 December 1995 Enfield, London, England |
| Genres | Electronic, IDM |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, producer |
| Years active | 2015–present |
| Labels | Hyperdub, Ghostly International |
Loraine James, (born 18 December 1995) also known as Whatever the Weather, is a British electronic producer and musician.
Loraine James was raised in an Alma Estate tower block in Enfield, North London. Her interest in music began in childhood. She took piano lessons, and was allured by 2000s alternative bands like Paramore and Death Cab for Cutie, as well as the calypso and funk music her mother introduced her to. [1] In her adolescence, James took an interest in electronic music and was inspired by IDM artists like Squarepusher and Telefon Tel Aviv. [2] [3]
She majored in commercial music at the University of Westminster. Despite this, James planned on following in the footsteps of her mother and pursuing a career in education.
James is queer. [2]
James continued to work on music during her spare time, producing a number of experimental electronic tracks. Starting 2015, she released many of these tracks on Bandcamp. In 2017, she self-released Detail before signing with electronic music record label Hyperdub .
In 2019, her Hyperdub-released debut album For You and I received significant attention and topped end-of-year lists in publications including The Quietus and DJ Mag , where it was named Favourite Album of the Year. [4] The following year, James released two EPs; Hmm in July followed by Nothing in October, a four-track EP featuring a cadre of international vocalists such as Uruguayan singer Lila Tirando a Violeta, Iranian-born rapper Tardast, and HTRK's Jonnine Standish. [5] [6] In early 2021, she remotely collaborated with Dominican performance artist and dancer Isabel Lewis for CTM's 2021 virtual edition. [7]
Her second album, Reflection , was conceived during the COVID-19 lockdown after she had quit her teaching job to focus on music. [2] [3] Released in June 2021, the experimental album encompasses a variety of genres and was lauded by critics. [8] [9] [10]
In February 2022, James announced that she had adopted the moniker Whatever the Weather and that an eponymous album would be released in April 2022. The lead single "17°C" and its accompanying music video were previewed. [11] [12] [13] The following month, she released a collaborative EP with TSVI, titled 053. [14]
Her third release of the year, James' album Building Something Beautiful for Me was released on 7 October 2022. It is an homage to American composer Julius Eastman and is inspired by a mix of his unreleased and previously available works. [15] [16]
Sasami Ashworth, known mononymously as Sasami, is an American musician who records music in a variety of styles, from singer-songwriter ballads to heavy metal and industrial. She began her career as a member of Cherry Glazerr but went solo in 2018. Her most recent album, Squeeze, was released in 2022.
Julius Eastman was an American composer, pianist, vocalist, performance artist, and conductor. He was among the first composers to combine the processes of some minimalist music with other methods of extending and modifying his music as in some experimental music. He thus created what he called "organic music". In compositions like Stay On It (1973), his melodic motifs were not unlike the catchy refrains of then pop music.
Chantal Francesca Passamonte, known professionally as Mira Calix, was a South African-born, British-based audio and visual artist and musician signed to Warp Records.
Hyperdub is a British, London-based electronic music record label and former webzine, founded by Steve Goodman, a.k.a. Kode9. The label was formed in 2004, and grew out of the UK's early dubstep scene. Artists signed to the label have included Burial, Cooly G, Dean Blunt, DJ Rashad, DVA, Fatima Al Qadiri, Ikonika, Jessy Lanza, Klein, Laurel Halo and Zomby.
William Emmanuel Bevan, known by his recording alias Burial, is a British electronic musician from South London. Initially remaining anonymous, Burial became the first artist signed to Kode9's electronic label Hyperdub in 2005. He won acclaim the following year for his self-titled debut album, an influential release in the UK's dubstep scene which showcased a dark, emotive take on UK rave music styles such as UK garage and 2-step; it was named the album of the year by The Wire. Burial's second album, Untrue, was released to further critical acclaim in 2007.
English electronic music producer Burial has released two studio albums, two compilation albums, one mix album, sixteen extended plays, and fourteen singles. Burial debuted in May 2005 with the release of his extended play South London Boroughs on the Hyperdub label. His eponymous debut studio album followed in May 2006 and was praised by music critics for its unique incorporation of 2-step garage, ambient, downtempo, dubstep, and trip hop styles. Following the releases of the extended plays Distant Lights (2006) and Ghost Hardware (2007), Burial released his second studio album Untrue in November 2007 to critical acclaim. It peaked at number 58 on the UK Albums Chart and at number 57 on the Ultratop 50 chart for the Belgian region of Flanders. Untrue later received nominations for the Mercury Prize and the Shortlist Music Prize, with the album experiencing a 1004% sales increase in the week following the Mercury Prize awards ceremony.
Laurel Anne Chartow, known professionally as Laurel Halo, is an American electronic musician currently based in Los Angeles, California. She released her debut album Quarantine on Hyperdub in 2012 to critical acclaim; it was named album of the year by The Wire.
Alejandra Ghersi Rodríguez, known professionally as Arca, is a Venezuelan musician and record producer based in Barcelona, Spain. She initially began releasing music under the name of Nuuro. After attending the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, Ghersi first released the EP Baron Libre (2012) under the name Arca and subsequently released the EPs Stretch 1 and Stretch 2; the latter experimented with hip hop and brought her attention from prominent music publications.
Caroline Elizabeth Polachek is an American singer, producer, and songwriter. Raised in Connecticut, Polachek cofounded the indie pop band Chairlift while studying at the University of Colorado. The duo emerged from the late-2000s Brooklyn music scene with the sleeper hit "Bruises". In 2014, she released her first solo project, Arcadia, as Ramona Lisa. Under CEP, she released Drawing the Target Around the Arrow in 2017.
Holly Herndon is an American artist and composer based in Berlin, Germany. After studying composition at Stanford University and completing her Ph.D. at Stanford University's Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics, she pursued a music career internationally. Herndon's music often includes human singing voices, is primarily computer-based, and regularly uses the visual programming language Max/MSP to create custom instruments and vocal processes. She has released music on the labels RVNG Intl. and 4AD. Her third full-length album, Proto, was released on May 10, 2019.
Hannah Amond, known professionally as Hannah Diamond, is an English singer, songwriter, photographer, and visual artist. She has recorded on A.G. Cook's PC Music label since 2013, beginning with her debut single "Pink and Blue". Her music and visual art employs an aesthetic of hyperreality and heavily produced cuteness in tension with sincerity.
Fatima Al Qadiri is a Senegalese-born Kuwaiti musician and conceptual artist.
Klein is a singer-songwriter and producer from South London, England. She released the EP Tommy on UK label Hyperdub in 2017 and has received praise for her albums Lifetime (2019) and Frozen (2020).
Arooj Aftab is a Pakistani-American singer, composer, and producer. She has worked in various musical styles and idioms, including jazz and minimalism.
J’Kerian Morgan, known professionally as Lotic, is an American electronic musician based in Berlin. Lotic rose to prominence through her involvement with the Janus Collective in the early 2010s as well as with a string of EPs released during this time. She was invited by Björk to produce two official Vulnicura remixes in 2016. Her full-length debut, Power, was released in 2018.
Blane Muise, better known by her stage name Shygirl, is an English singer, DJ, rapper, songwriter and co-head/founder of record label and collective Nuxxe. Shygirl's music incorporates elements of dance music, hip-hop, experimental pop, grime and deconstructed club. She has also been associated with the hyperpop music scene. Shygirl rose to prominence after working with close collaborator and friend Sega Bodega, as well as other well-known experimental producers Arca and Sophie, and gaining attention from the likes of Rihanna, who has used various Nuxxe tracks for her Fenty Beauty commercials and fashion shows. Shygirl has released various singles since 2016, and three EPs titled Cruel Practice, Alias and Club Shy. Her debut studio album Nymph was released on 30 September 2022 to widespread acclaim from music critics.
Reflection is the second album by London-based electronic musician Loraine James, released through Hyperdub in June 2021, which has been met with critical acclaim. It follows James' 2020 Nothing EP.
Merrisa Campbell, known by her recording alias Cooly G, is a British singer, rapper, producer and DJ, living in London. She has released two albums of bass music on Hyperdub: Playin' Me (2012) and Wait 'Til Night (2014).
Gentle Confrontation is the fifth album by London-based electronic musician Loraine James, released on 22 September 2023 through Hyperdub. It was produced by James and received acclaim from critics.
Building Something Beautiful for Me is the fourth album by London-based electronic musician Loraine James, released on 7 October 2022 through Phantom Limb. It was conceived as an homage to the works of composer Julius Eastman and received acclaim from critics.
| Authority control databases: Artists |
|---|
