James Swift takes timeout to chat to 64bar and compares the Ninjatune forum to … wait for it… Tahrir Square.
He has come a long way, literally a long way. This is a boy with an Irish accent who has lived in Austria, Australia and had to make a sharp exit out of Cairo last week as the troubles kicked off.
And with such a wide range of sights he’s seen, he’s developed a style that comes straight from the imagination – but somehow, he’s managed to get it down on file.
James has been a mainstay of 64bar since the project stated in 2009, when he was based in Australia at a time he claims he needed a lift to get back into writing.
He explains: “The first time I heard about 64barmusic, I was sat in Sydney with no inspiration, and it was like somebody gave me a task with some limits and that gave me the motivation to do something.”
He uses Abelton live, an MPD and a Macbook pro, and works to create “ a melody through the noise.”
He’s modest, and says: “The thing I like the most is that everybody is so surprisingly good and it makes me feel bad about the crap that I put in.
“But then you get feedback from people who really like it and you realise that what you’ve done isn’t too bad.
“My favourite 64barchallenge mix was definitely number four. That was stunning. It was very well mixed and super entertaining and a really nice thing to listen to while I was travelling.”
But what about his influences? Well as every good head will tell you, Dorian Concept, Aphex Twin and Amon Tobin cannot be ignored, but James also has aspirations of unlocking the secret of the mainstream sound.
“Just regular pop can be so fantastic. They are doing something so hard which is to make something instantly accessible and occasionally great and timeless.
“That is harder than any knob twiddling, showgazing sound that many people who are respected in ‘the scene’ are trying to achieve.
James’ album, Killbots have feelings too is available here
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