I always wanted to write an album, but I actively said, "Hey, I want to do an album." That was about maybe two and a half years ago, actually. I've worked with a bunch of amazing feature vocalists on this, people who I've worked with previously too, so it kind of felt right to tell this story together. I wanted to keep it very true to what I do, which I think is very simple production but very powerful, very summery style beats as well. The reason I'm a fan of you is how you do something. It'll be like, "You know we're trying something different." I hate that. You know when a band or a group, they'll write a couple of singles or whatever, then they'll go for the album or they'll do the second album and there will be a change.
So the main goal was to not only tell this story of mine, but to keep the production the same. Going into that process of starting your first album, what was the main sound or goal you had with the project? "I wanted to keep it very true to what I do, which I think is very simple production but very powerful, very summery style beats as well."
But this is a whole story and it makes sense together so it's definitely. It's like I'm writing a book. I'm sure it's a different feeling from putting a track out that people really vibe with. A post shared by Hayden James on at 2:37pm PDT To everyone involved in making this record with me, thank you from the bottom of my heart. There’s so many people that helped me get here. I’m so excited to share this new music with you. To everyone that listens to my music, comes to my shows and supports me, thanks for waiting so long for this moment. no fillers - every song belonging, fitting into the story and meaning something special. I dreamed of writing a record that you can press play on the first song and just let it play all the way through. It’s a look at different stages of relationships - love, loss and everything in between. Between Us is about those intimate moments in your life. It’s been a long journey to get here and I’m so proud of what I’ve created. I honestly didn’t think this day would come. View this post on Instagram It’s finally here. And it's the first time I've ever had an album out, so, I'll let you know. What did you tweet earlier today, like, "I'm not crying, you're crying"? and through flying around a lot and the different time zones, but seeing it on Spotify for the first time and Apple Music, scrolling through I'm like, these aren't just demos on my phone anymore, people can actually actively listen to them now. It kind of did this morning I've been up since 5:00 a.m. So to be able to give them this, it feels incredible. I'm already getting some people commenting and going, "Oh, it's worth the wait." Because it's been six years since my first release and yeah, people have always just gone like, "We need more music," basically. It hit midnight a couple of hours ago, tomorrow. You're about to drop Between Us, your debut album. James also talked about his biggest musical influences, which include his labelmates (Hi, Flume!), as well as the group that first caused him to fall in love with electronic music: GRAMMY winners and dance-music icons Daft Punk.
Prior to dropping Between Us Stateside, we sat down with James to learn more about his vision for the project, what goes into choosing his collaborators, putting out an album versus a single, and how he gets the finished product to feel so fluid. He followed with a trail of big singles, including "Something About You" in 2015, which put him on the map in both Australia and the U.S., with American dream-house duo ODESZA releasing a firery remix that same year. James first released his self-titled debut EP in 2013 on Aussie indie electronic label Future Classic, home to a small but mighty group of talent, including GRAMMY winner Flume. Wjh3kp5LLP- Future Classic June 14, 2019 Hayden James’ long awaited debut album ‘Between Us’ is now available everywhere.