James William Blades is a composer, producer and sound artist whose work includes a wide range of productions across film, art exhibitions, documentaries, sound installations, theatre and fashion.
James’ work fuse’s original composition with soundscapes, creating textural and detailed productions that aim to develop sonic narratives. Exploring the use of timbre, harmony and musical aesthetic’s, James looks to reshape the line between music and sound, and to try and establish sonic landscapes that create new moods and convey new meanings.
In 2019 James collaborated with visual artist Sam Cannon, composing the soundtrack to the immersive experience, Forest Bath at Life Is Beautiful in Las Vegas. He also scored the music to Billy Gerard Frank film, 2nd Eulogy: Mind The Gap produced by Lauren Beck and was installed at the Venice Biennale
In 2018 he was commissioned by the Victoria & Albert Museum in London to produce sound installations for three spaces across the museum, titled Threads, Resonances & Reconstruct. These pieces explored the way in which physical objects communicate with sound and music.
Continuing his exploration with music, sound and space in March 2019, James composed soundscapes for Theaster Gates’ Amalgam exhibition at the Palais De Tokyo, Paris.
James composed the soundscape score and additional music for Mercury Award winning Sampha’s film Process, directed by Kahlil Joseph. James continued collaborating with Joseph, working on Black Mary and Flypaper, which have been shown in the Tate Modern in London, New York’s New Museum and MOCA in Los Angeles.
James was invited to Thread, an artist residency in Senegal run by the Josef & Anni Albers Foundation. There he worked producing music with musicians and recording music for fashion designer Grace Wales Bonner. He returned in 2018 to produce an album incorporating soundscapes and original compositions written and performed by artists in Dakar and Tambacounda.
He was nominated for Best Original Score at the 2019 AMP Awards for his music to the 2019 Toyota Olympics Campaign. and came runner up in the prestigious American CINE Marvin Hamlisch Film Scoring Contest for emerging composers, judged by Academy Award winning Mychael Danna.
James’ commercial clients include Google, Nike, Mercedes, MoMA, Harrods, Toyota, H&M, Miele and Dyson.
