Exploring Soundscapes with Malloy James

(Photo Credit - Jonnelle Monzon)

Your latest single “You There?” combines elements of hip-hop and alternative. I loved the guitar, percussion, and how they were met with your vocals. Can you speak to your approach to creating the melody and composition for this one?

“It started with the guitar chords, the first four bars. They reminded me of a John Mayer song. Once I had those, the chords told me where to go with the turnaround. After I laid that down, I just kept hearing “are you there.” The chords felt like they were asking a question, and I had to put words to it. Percussion came last. That’s just me on my old drum kit in my studio. I wanted it to feel like an older studio in Nashville, so I recorded it with overhead mics.”

You’re getting ready to drop new music titled Season 1 and Season 2. These records are very different in their sonic landscape. Season 1 has a jazz and soul feel, while Season 2 is guitar-driven and alternative. How did you arrive at the musical choices for these two records, and what gave you the idea and motivation to do a double release?

“I made Season 1 first and I was happy with it, but it didn’t represent all of my taste. I wanted to get into the other sound that makes me who I am as an artist. I love playing guitar and bass. One of the best parts of being an emerging artist is that you haven’t been pigeonholed into a sound yet, so I wanted to make a project that represents as much of my taste as possible.”

“What gave me the confidence was a conversation with my partner. It made sense to put both out together. I didn’t have to compromise or choose. I can be all the things I am and put it out there for people to respond to.”

You’ve had some pretty awesome experiences, including work with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, with architects at the National Building Museum, and with designers on runway presentations for New York Fashion Week. How does your approach to these immersive musical experiences differ from how you create a record?

“A lot of the work I do for designers and fashion brands doesn’t have to be “Malloy James” up front. I’m not dealing with lyrics, so I’m connecting with the listener in a different way. It’s less verbal, and it takes a different thought process. But my thinking on all of it is evolving, and each way of working has started to inform the other.”

I read that you’re working on a project called Atlas, which looks at sound and music in relation to place and time. Would you share a bit about it?

“Atlas is an ongoing, immersive project that moves between ambient, jazz, electronic, and neo-classical. The music works in any context, but the artistic intention is for certain records to be heard at a specific place and time, down to the exact coordinates, to get the full experience. Newport, RI in summer, Paris in the winter. It’s about emotion, place, and a kind of time travel: using these tones and chords to bring you into the moment the way I experienced it, in that exact time and place.”

What are you most looking forward to about releasing this new music, both into the world and in live settings?

“I’m looking forward to it belonging to other people. Putting it out lets me plant a flag where I’ve been. Then I can look up, see a little more clearly where I can go next, and keep sharing that with people.”