Tag Archives: Hayden James

[Event Review] ODESZA’s Dazzling Victory Lap at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium–SF, 12/10

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ODESZA
Memories That You Call (feat. Monsoonsiren)

Since the release of their 2014 album, ODESZA have grown into an omnipresent force in dance music appearing at nearly every major music festival and making their way across the globe on an extensive headlining tour. This year has been particularly pivotal for the Seattle duo—they’ve dropped several massive remixes, continued to expand their live set (including a full marching band at Lollapalooza) and launched the Foreign Family Collective. Through Foreign Fam, they’ve helped introduce like-minded artists such as Big Wild and Jai Wolf to larger audiences. As huge fans, the Ninja staff have had the pleasure of covering the Seattle duo’s upward trajectory and interviewing them a couple times along the way. 

In the last two years alone, the TMN writers have probably seen ODESZA a combined 20 times—my best guess for myself is 6. So, going into their show last week, I frankly wasn’t sure there was much more to see and, even if their performance hadn’t evolved, I would’ve admittedly left happy. Once again, though, ODESZA put together an awe-inspiring set fit for Bill Graham Auditorium’s grand stature. As the set began, members Harrison and Clayton emerged with their parallel MIDI and drum setup offering some words about their admiration for the SF crowd, who have shown out every time they’ve come to town. Musically, “Koto,” a gorgeous and low-key track, set the tone before the first high point hit with their remix of Sia’s “Big Girls Cry.” Granted a nearly 2-hour set, ODESZA was able to dig deep in their catalogue playing standouts from their oft-overlooked debut, Summer’s Gone, such as ”Above the Middle” all the way through the fan-favorite remixes of opener Hayden James’ “Something About You” and Zhu’s “Faded.”  DNP_9124 Continue reading

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Hayden James On His Musical Roots, Finding His Voice and Upcoming Releases [TMN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW]

HJ2

’Hayden James – Something About You’

For the first piece of exclusive content in Hayden James’ TMN artist residency, we’ve got an interview with the talented Australian artist! Peep the conversation below where Hayden discusses his musical roots, his success thus far and what he’s got in the works. If you’re not yet familiar with Hayden James give our introduction post a read and enjoy some of his fantastic tunes through out this piece. 

TMN: What was your first musical memory?

Hayden James: My mum playing the guitar. She would play Spanish style flamenco stuff. That and my parents listening to Lionel Richie records.

TMN: When and how did you first start getting into making music?

Hayden James: I started writing a few years ago. I used to DJ a lot so all the stuff I used to write was skewed towards playing in clubs I guess, as opposed to now where I’m writing more songs to be played whenever, wherever.

TMN: Your original music has such a distinct groove and emotion to it—can you talk a bit about some of the artists and sounds that you were really into when creating your debut EP?

Hayden James: Thank you! It’s really important that my music has that emotional element / connection with people. Artists that give that kind of feeling to me is Daft Punk, James Blake, Jai Paul, Odesza to name a few.

TMN: Did singing come around the same time as producing for you or was that a bit later?

Hayden James: It was pretty much the same time. I would write these songs and didn’t really know any singers, so I just sang on them myself as demos. From there I started to manipulate / pitch them. I never intended to sing really, but it has worked out so far ;).

TMN: So many artists need to flood the market with a slew of releases to get noticed but you’ve amassed a large following on the backs of a few quality releases. How meaningful is it for you to have such an avid fan base at this stage of your career?

Hayden James: Yeah it’s so crazy. I’ve only released 2 singles (along side an EP) to date. It’s really amazing to be able to tour so many places around the world with the music i’ve released so far.

Can’t wait to release more music really soon! Continue reading

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Introducing our Next Resident Artist — Hayden James

In an age of constant hype and endless musical evolution, the task of distinguishing artists with true longevity from those with fleeting attachments to current trends proves nearly impossible. As music curators, and hopefully useful filters for an overwhelming influx of content, it tends to fall in our hands to predict the potential for this sort of transcendence amongst new producers and musicians often based off a single project, or even song.

When we first heard Australian producer/songwriter Hayden James‘ debut single “Permission to Love” over two years ago, we had a feeling the up ‘n comer was onto something special. The combination of his own soulful vocals with house-leaning, groove-driven production made for an irresistible sound–an emotional approach that has only become more crucial in contemporary electronic music since that time. Even today, “Permission to Love” remains in heavy rotation for the TMN Staff–a rarity with the fast-paced nature of music these days. Simply put, it’s electronic music that compels you to feel as much as it does to dance.

James’ subsequent self-titled EP, released on Australian powerhouse Future Classic, helped solidify that seductive style but it wasn’t until his hit single “Something About You,” which featured vocal accompaniment from the talented George Maple, that James truly cemented his spot in the mainstream. Aside from making its way into just about every publications’ best of 2014 lists, and rightfully so, the addictive jam could be heard in DJ sets in every corner of the world garnering support from artists across genres. Fresh off the heels of millions of Soundcloud plays and countless co-signs, James hit the road continuing to release impressive, versatile remixes, but also proving his abilities as a DJ and performer–playing sets worldwide including an appearance at Coachella this year.

With a distinguished sound that appeals to fans outside of just electronic music, a multitude of talents and the Future Classic crew behind him, Hayden James undoubtedly has a bright future ahead of him and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome him as our Resident Artist. Stay tuned to TMN for the next month as we’ll be bringing you exclusive content from one of our favorite up ‘n coming producers. In the meantime, enjoy some tuneage from Hayden James below.

’Hayden James – Permission To Love’
’Hayden James – No Time’
’Hayden James – Something About You’
’Odesza – Say My Name (feat. Zyra) (Hayden James Remix)’
’Rufus – Sundream (Hayden James Remix)’
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[NEW] Hayden James – Something About You (ODESZA Remix)

Hayden James
Something About You (ODESZA Remix)

Hayden James‘s “Something About You” was undoubtedly one of the best songs to come out in 2014–a gorgeously smooth cut featuring silky vocals from James himself alongside the always amazing, fellow-Future Classic member George Maple. The seemingly, and welcomingly, omni-present ODESZA have been teasing a remix of the jam both on social media and during live sets–today it has officially arrived.

In typical fashion, ODESZA truly make the track their own utilizing the vocals perfectly building into an absolutely beautiful eruption that simultaneously evokes deep emotions and makes you want to frolic in a field of feels. In a way, the talented duo are returning the favor after James’ fantastic 2014 rendition of “Say My Name.” Bask in this glorious tune above and keep your eye out for Hayden James in 2015–we caught him at Audio in San Francisco recently and were blown away by his set.

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Coachella 2015 – Must See Acts [TMN EDITORS’ PICKS]

TMNCoachThe spectacle and legend of Coachella Valley Arts & Music Festival seems to grow every year and, although it’s certainly reached a critical mass at this point, it proves time and time again to be worth the trip. After breaking box office records for consecutive years, Coachella continues blazing ahead in 2015 with a deep, diverse lineup and some of their most ambitious projects to date including their largest investment in art installations ever. With the first weekend kicking off this Friday, the set times for Coachella were finally let loose yesterday bringing up the regular scheduling conflicts and tough decisions. To make things easier for you all, we’ve decided to lay out our top acts to see every day chronologically. We hope this serves as a useful guide as you prepare for the whirlwind of emotion that is Coachella. Best advice we can give you all: keep good company, don’t sweat (figuratively, of course, perspiration is imminent) and most importantly be safe. Hope to run in to some of you ninjas there!

P.S. We didn’t forget the Do Lab! You can find our Do Lab picks on the final page.

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