When it comes to his art, Leifur James leaves nothing to chance. Recent album ‘Magic Seeds’ is a case in point – working fastidiously, it was constructed over a period of years.
A solitary talent, Leifur James recruited some close friends for the initial recording sessions, with alongside drummer Leo Taylor (Floating Points Ensemble), violinist Raven Bush (Speakers Corner Quartet) and producer/engineer Oli Bayston.
“It was just the four of us in a room for one day, improvising and enjoying the thrill of playing together. I wanted that feeling of a real room of musicians, nothing too sampled – like the old records. Talk Talk – Spirit of Eden was recorded in a crypt together between the musicians for months,” he explains.
Remarkably, this was back in 2022. Taking those recordings to Lisbon the same year, Leifur James then began whittling the material down into shape, working like a sculptor with a block of formless marble.
Gradually bringing the album into focus, ‘Magic Seeds’ landed late last year, coupled to a wonderful show at London’s Hoxton Hall on November 21st.
CLASH caught up with Leifur James to discuss his music bedrock in Foundations.
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Talk Talk – Spirit Of Eden
I’ll never forget the feeling when I heard this record for the first time. I used to drive in the summer with it with the windows down, I felt deeply happy hearing it. It was one of my first influences before starting to release music… I liked the way it challenged conventional song structure and the focus was on the voyage of the album, and the emotive connection that comes with it. That’s always been how I approach writing.
How it makes you feel rather than what’s happening in it. The way Mark Hollis’s haunting vocals sit with the rich arrangements… it showed to me there was a way to express vulnerability and authenticity within a piece of work and use your voice without too much of a commercial lean. Each track feels loose and free but considered and intentional. There’s a level of experimentation and emotional honesty (and wildly dynamic at points!), that I loved the bravery of. I also connected to the band’s battle with the powers at be at the time to record this masterpiece against the popularity of the pop single. It’s a repeating story in the music industry, still today.
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DJ Shadow – ‘Entroducing‘
I was born in the 90’s and this record perfectly captures that 90’s era nostalgia, I guess I connect with those formative years. Production-wise, Shadow crafted layers of samples, blending so many genres… hip-hop, jazz, ambient, break.. it inspired me to see how I could bring different genres to coexist within tracks, let alone albums, and be playful with that. He seamlessly transitions between moods like a canvas for storytelling, every moment feels an opportunity to tell a story, it’s all engrained in the samples.
I don’t usually use samples as I’m always trying to record live original sounds into my records, but I think to do sampling well, you’ve got to be smart and tasteful with selections and how you produce them.
Shadow is the master of that!
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Nina Simone – ‘Baltimore 1978‘
Everyone will have their own connection to Nina Simone… For me, it’s not just for her unique voice and songwriting, but her commitment to social justice and artistic integrity. She’s a creative genius, and speaks the truth! Her music is timeless and universally relatable.
I most admire her courage to address issues of race, gender, and identity in her songs, and her fierce authenticity and willingness to confront difficult truths. Nowadays, it can feel like listeners and artists are less willing to hear and put out the hard stuff that question and challenge the listener, because things are hard anyway. The way the listening platforms generate music into playlists is neutralising the raw stuff, and fuelling it all into similar channels and feelings.
There’s a lot of longing, heartbreak, and resilience in her work, but she manages to keep the music, light, energised and fun at the same time… that’s not easy. Baltimore is my all time favourite track of hers, the power in simplicity.
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Four Tet – ‘Rounds‘
I remember around 2008/9 I was listening to this record constantly. If I was going to the shops, walking, in the car, sitting with friends, sleeping… anything, I was listening to this record. Listening back now it’s still fiercely original. I think this was my first taste of spirituality in electronic music.
Nostalgia and euphoria are constantly present in the record and are two feelings I connect with… somewhere between meditative and invigoration. There’s a lot of layering and sampling going on here, chaotic at times but it works!
When I was young I learnt about the Upanishads, and I think you can hear the ancient Indian and Hindu traditions dug into the production if you listen closely enough. There’s brave decisions all over this record.
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Talking Heads – Remain In Light
I had a tricky choice here between Fela Kuti – ‘Afrodisiac’ and this record, as ‘Afrodisiac’ basically inspired this record. But hearing the lineage of Fela Kuti’s energetic afrofunk in this context, with Brian Eno on the production… that’s all I need in a record.
‘Listening Wind’ has been a big inspiration for me. I love the percussion sounds at the beginning and how it drops into this richly produced wavey dub funk psychedelica! And the concept itself of a ‘Listening Wind’, is the wind listening or are we listening to the wind? I could probably talk about five more records, someday.
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‘Magic Seeds’ is out now.
