Los Angeles-based August James is an aspiring indie singer-songwriter from Minnesota, whose brand-new EP is set to be launched in April. The first single, ‘Montana River Beds’ was released on January 31st and deals with the struggle of romantic distance, set in the American West. We sat down with James to chat about his musical journey, starting with his father’s bluegrass band and his mother’s piano playing, his early influences, such as Selena Gomez and Lady Gaga, and how he wants to emphasise the importance of pop elements in his indie folk music.
Upon entering the Zoom call, we immediately recognise familiar faces gracing the wall behind James and comment on loving what he has going on there. “It’s all my faves!”, James laughs and turns around to point some of them out to us, “Charli [XCX], Chappell [Roan], Harry [Styles], I love them!”. We start the interview by asking about music’s impact on his childhood. “My mom sort of plays piano and my dad was in a bluegrass band, he played the banjo,”, he tells us and elaborates, “There’s always music in the house, but my dad wouldn’t consider himself a musician, it was more of a casual thing for him. I remember going to farmers markets or gigs that my dad’s band would do and watching him play, and it was all of him and his best friends. That was really fun! It was of the people I was around anyway, and they would all come together and play songs. I think, that was when I first connected with music, which is why those songs are really important to me.”
The first idol James had – and the first proper musical obsession he can remember – was no other than Disney all-star Selena Gomez. “I loved Wizards of Waverly Place! I definitely dived into Selena’s music too. I was actually just listening to one of her old Disney-era albums and, honestly, it still holds up!”, he shares with a smile. “I’ve always been a big pop fan. I remember watching Lady Gaga at the Grammys when I was young. I think that those are the first musicians I really connected with.” James’ love for pop music is still evident in his day to day, as well as in the music he creates himself. “I do listen to a lot of the broader range of music now, but I mean, as you can see,”, he refers to the wall behind him, “I love a lot of pop music, it’s still with me”. “And, of course, because it’s what I’m listening to, it seeps into my own music. Even though my music does tend to be a little bit indie or indie folk sort of vibes, to me it is still pop music at its core. I think I take a lot of inspiration from the big pop stars in terms of quality, and production. I try to bring pop elements into my production as much as possible.”
While the talented artist would love to make it a full-time career, he is still currently studying in college – in his final semester of economics. “I don’t even know why I chose that,”, he laughs, “When I was a kid, I would always say, “I want to be a pop star”.” Only when he connected with a manager, he realised that he could eventually make his childhood dream a reality. “I never really thought about that but then [my manager] reached out and instantly she just assumed that I was treating it like a career, and then I was like, “I guess I’m gonna think of it like that too”.” However, for now, James is “trying [his] best to focus on college”, but simultaneously jokes: “I’m definitely not focusing on college.”
He informs us that his upcoming EP has been a year in the making and that it is “really different than any music [he] made in the past because it was made in LA with a lot of collaborators”. “And I think that is the biggest push that I’m making in my music right now, trying to meet and collaborate with as many people as possible and get in as many writing rooms as possible, and really try to fully tap into the LA music world.”
Originally from Minnesota and having grown up there, James decided to move to Los Angeles three and a half years ago. “The weather is very different, very warm, but that is kind of a silly difference,”, he giggles and continues, “But in terms of music, I don’t think that moving here really changed my sound or the way that I approach music”. “Although, I do think that maybe collaborating with people and understanding how the industry works got a little bit better. It made me consider how much I want to prioritise commercial sound versus my own, there’s always a balance. LA has influenced that in certain ways but I still go to Minnesota a lot, and I think that’s the place that I feel like my music comes from.”
Regarding his songwriting, James deems his music as “very autobiographical, like, diaristic, always coming from real life”, as storytelling is an important factor of his art. “I try to have a strong sense of place in my music. I want to be setting the whole scene with the songs. But then, like I said before, ultimately, I view my music as pop music. So hooks are really important to me and strong choruses.” “Historically,”, James explains, “I start with an instrumental first, especially if I’m producing”. “I pretty much always produce the instrumental first. From there, I feel it out and write lyrics. But this EP was a little bit different because I was doing a lot of sessions and working with producers and stuff like that. It was a lot more writing in the room, on guitars, and piano, which I think is the more traditional songwriting method, and that was really fun! I think it challenged me to write in different ways and brought out some different elements of my writing.”
‘Montana River Beds’ is James’ most recent release, the first one off his upcoming EP, and deals with “the way that distance can affect your relationships, but more specifically, it’s about feeling like a distraction for somebody who wants to be somewhere else romantically”. “I wanted us to play with the Great West of America, as it has this long history of being treated in narrative works as this land of discovery and all that stuff. I wanted to play with that as this other person wanting, aspiring, to be somewhere else and using Montana as the symbol for that.” “I wrote this song a year ago, and it’s the only song on the EP that I’m the only producer and writer on it,”, he proudly states. “In that sense, I think it’s the most personal and that’s why it’s released first because it just feels like it’s the truest to myself and a really fun introduction to the world of the EP.” The EP, which will be released in April and includes six songs but doesn’t have a release date or a name yet, is inspired by “similar themes of distance and isolation and yearning”. The creative tells us that his own favourite song on the EP is ‘Let Me Down’ – “definitely the poppiest song with a real fun chorus, and it’s the one that has been the hardest to finish”. James also made sure that “the world from the music transfers to the visuals”. “All the covers have that vibe and the second single, which will be released in early March, has a really cool prairie view, and there’s a music video to go along with it too. It was important to me that all the visuals across cover art, any music video, and even promo shots, feel like they’re in the same world.”
Besides his exciting release, James’ biggest plan this year is to finally graduate college, and then hopefully be part of a collaboration. “I have a couple of collabs in the works with some other artists that I love,”, he tells us, “and my hope is that those come together for the summer.” If he could pick one of his favourite artists that are hung up behind him on the wall to collaborate with, who would he choose? “Caroline Polachek!”, he exclaims almost immediately and gushes, “I just love her so much and her songwriting is just next level to me.” Another collaboration he would love to explore would be with producer Rob Milton. “I love his sounds, I would love to do some sessions with him,”, James confesses and smiles into the camera one last time.
Once the interview comes to an end, it’s clear that August James is not just an incredibly personable and likable individual but also just as much of an intriguing upcoming singer/songwriter and detailed visual creative, who we believe has a bright future ahead of him. And sooner or later, he will be amongst his favourite artists, and his picture hung up on someone’s bedroom wall.
Written by Vicky Madzak
GEM Magazine 