Joshua James is a singer/songwriter from London, UK. He made his solo debut in 2019 with two EPs; “Outliers” and “Foundation.” Each record spawned a series of successful singles counting their streaming numbers in the tens of thousands. Even now, two years after the records’ release Joshua’s Spotify profile receives thousands of listeners every month.
The singer spent 2020 like the rest of the world, locked down at home. However he put the downtime to good use, writing new material. Now, armed with an arsenal of new songs he is heading into 2021 with some big plans. They start with a brand new tune. “Love Me” is the latest single from Joshua James, released worldwide on March 12, 2021 to all major streaming services.
The song is an upbeat indie Pop acoustic guitar groove with a catchy, immediately memorable hook and heartwarming, universally relatable lyrics. Over a funky, lo-fi Hip-hop beat James delivers a radio-ready tale of the flirty push and pull of a new romance. Vocally he has a broad range and slides from a cool tenor into upper-octave, Adan Levine territory. His sing-song, rapid-fire delivery is interrupted only briefly by a catchy “doo-doo-doo-doo-doo” chorus and a short jazzy electric guitar solo in the bridge.
“Love Me” is the first single of the New Year from Joshua James, with many more to come. Check it out, below. You can also hear the song on both The Deep Indie Dive and Deep Indie Songwriters playlists. We had the opportunity to chat with the artist about the new song and his plans for the future. Check out his answers to our 7 questions. And follow the links at the end of the article to connect with Joshua James. Get on his socials and get in the loop on all of his current and future projects.
7 Questions With Joshua James
The Static Dive: Where are you from?
Joshua James: I live in London; I have been here since 2014. Originally I am from Faringdon, which is in between Swindon and Oxford.
SD: How long have you been making music?
JJ: I started playing guitar when I was 11 and since then played in different bands. We used to have fun together and play in local festivals. In 2019 I decided to pursue a solo career, I bought a new guitar in January and ventured into open mic nights, gigs and music competitions.
SD: Who are the musicians involved in your project?
JJ: The producer of the song, and EP to come, is a guy called Jonathan Jacobs (Jay) who works at Audiohaus. He’s very good at what he does, and has been pointing me in the right direction to improve my songs and the production of the EP. Future Music has also been involved and guiding me from the music industry perspective. This combo was the outcome of a music competition.
SD: Who are your biggest musical influences?
JJ: Growing up I listened to Michael Jackson and Will Smith a lot. As a teenager I went through a more rock phase with Nirvana, Blink 182, Linkin Park. I hear and like different styles, from classical music, pop, rock, rap, and I guess I ended up absorbing a little of each one. Maybe what comes out is more pop and radio music but I think the inspiration comes from different genres.
SD: What is your greatest non-musical influence?
JJ: I fell in love with reading at some point in my early 20’s. Since then I’ve been averaging about 30 books a year with no particular main theme/subject. I often find something in the books that stay in my head and become the beginning of a lyric.
SD: What inspired you to create this project?
JJ: It’s difficult to say. I sometimes feel I don’t really write music purposefully, I just tend to start playing and sometimes a song comes together. The EP to come is called Human Nature; the name is loosely based on a book I was reading at the time of writing. I think there is a little sub conscious push from that.
SD: What are your plans for the future (musically)?
JJ: At the moment it’s EPs. EPs, EPs and EPs. As we’ve had so much time indoors and to ourselves I find myself naturally writing so much more. So I have plenty of new music waiting in the wings to be recorded. I love writing music. It’s not just something I do to pass the time; it’s something that makes me look forward to my free moments. So as long as I’m writing I am happy. I would love to perform a lot more live but I haven’t thought too much about that considering the COVID situation.
Connect:
Joshua James on the Deep Indie playlists
