James is a British composer, multi-instrumentalist and experimental electronic artist living in Manchester, active in both contemporary classical and popular music scenes. His concert works have been described as “bold and immediate” and are constructed from a compositional process that centres economical use of musical material to encourage a type of restrained inventiveness. He has recently completed a postgraduate degree in composition at the Royal Northern College of Music where he studied with Larry Goves, Steven Daverson and Daniel Kidane, had discussions and feedback on his work in masterclasses by composers such as Anna Meredith, George Lewis and Sally Beamish and was shortlisted for the college’s prestigious 2023 Gold Medal Award.

Recent works for live performance include Half-Synthetic Waltz, a bagatelle for solo flute with a harmoniser effects pedal; Overlying Planes, an “ingeniously thought- through” piece for solo guitar that uses microtonal string tunings to introduce more possibilities for intervallic tensions on the instrument; and Slab, a piece for orchestra inspired by the Brutalist architectural style.

Collaborative works include scoring two short films by director Louis Linsey, a trailer for the theatre company All Day Breakfast and a collaborative installation at the RNCM’s surround sound venue Studio 8 with other students run by electronic artist and curator Mark Fell as part of the 2023 Made in Manchester festival.

As an instrumentalist he has recorded and performed across the UK in the alternative rock trio Persian Hugs, performed around Liverpool and on BBC Radio Merseyside with rock outfit Lizard and performed in Manchester alongside experimental improvisatory group UnHeard Ensemble.