James Follette
James Follette is an exciting emerging musician who is about to release his debut album.
The Adventures of Melvin P. Jackson sees him pop and soul to create a really unique sound.
I caught up with him to talk about the album, the new single Tears and what lies ahead.
- You are about to release your debut single Tears so what can we expect from the track?
What can you expect from this track? Honesty, a story, I guess people can relate to it because it is the ups and downs of life. And it is a good tune (laughs).
- There is a real soulful sound to the track; it almost nods back to the seventies and eighties, so how would you describe the sound of the track?
Well it is difficult for me because I wrote it and recorded it, if you know what I mean? So I probably describe it a bit different to what everyone else would.
I would probably go ‘I wish I had done that like this or changed that’. But I guess I would go for the soulful sound really.
- How have you found the response to the single so far?
Yeah it’s been great actually, people are loving the track. We let people have a listen to the whole album and we let a few people pick what they thought to be the strongest singles and Tears was one that came up the most.
- You have also finished recording your debt album 'The Adventures Of Melvin P Jackson' - so what was the inspiration behind the title?
(Laughs) Well we were in the studio one and the producers were like ‘you sing like a black man’ and I was just like ‘oh really?’
So we came up with a name for this voice and it just happened to be Melvin P. Jackson and so we decided to keep it as an alter ego because we thought it was quite cool (laughs).
And The Adventures of Melvin P. Jackson is the story behind the whole album really.
- And what can fans of yours expect from the album and how does the new single introduce us to the rest of the record?
They can expect a mix of different styles of old school soul and jazz and blues with a bit of scar in there.
It is also a very honest record because it comes from life experience and the ups and downs of being in your twenties or teen, the ups and downs of life, so I think that people will be able to relate to that.
In terms of the single I think it would introduce it well because it says a lot about the album in the sense that it’s got that vintage soul feel - so I think that it will introduce that album quite well.
- And what does the album say about you as an artist?
(Laughs) That I am a f***ed up person, you probably can’t say that though can you? That I am go through things like everyone else really but I just know how to express them through music and lyrics rather than go crazy on some drinking bender, although I do have the occasions of doing that (laughs).
It’s an honest record. It’s not fake I am not doing this because it’s going to be really popular or anything like that I am doing this because it’s from the heart and it is something that I have gone through.
- I have spoken to many musicians and some find the recording process painful and other don’t like it at all so how did you find the whole recording process?
I had an amazing time making the album, seriously. We laughed, we cried, we argued. You only get one first album and you can take a long as you want with it because you are not in a place where you are in a rush to finish it or you have a deadline.
The first album is usually the best because you are not rushed and you get to be yourself. The second and third albums become a little more ‘well we need it by this date’ and ‘it needs to be this’ or ‘you can’t say this anymore’.
So I just had a fantastic time and I wouldn’t replace a single second of it.
- You have also been song writing for many years so what inspires you to write? And are you inspired by any other artists?
Yeah, they are all dead though (laughs). I am inspired by people like Sam Cooke and Otis Redding; Stevie Wonder is still alive though.
I am really inspired by people who meant what they were talking about - I don’t really have a lot of contemporary music on my iPod because I don’t believe it if you know what I mean?
It’s fun to go out to and dance to sing along with but it’s a bit fake to me and I don’t quite believe it.
- As I said earlier Tears is quite soulful record so is the type of music that you listened to growing up, was it very much in this genre?
Yes it was very much in this genre as my mum always had soul records on such as Aretha Franklin, even some contemporary one such as Beverly Knight or En Vogue as well.
Yeah I would say that I listened to a lot of soul music growing up, contemporary and old school.
- Victoria Wilson-James has served as producer on the album so how did that collaboration come about?
Actually my step dad met Victoria at an antiques fair, interestingly enough, and just said ‘my step son does singing’ and he just asked her if she would be interesting I hearing my stuff and she was like ‘yeah totally’.
So she gave him her number to give to me and I gave her a call and send a few demos over. She was just like ‘this is really cool, let’s get you in the studio’.
It wasn’t as simple as that. I have been with other producers before and it didn’t work out with various projects and then we though let’s do it ourselves. So she just got us in the studio and we recorded the album.
- So were can we see you performing live as you step up the promotion for the single and the album?
Well there are no definite dates yet but over the next couple of months I will be back at the Jazz Café, which I did last year, and they have invited me back to do a headline gig - so that should be coming up pretty soon. So that should be the next big one.
- Finally what's coming up for you for the rest of 2012?
Mainly live performances here and there, I have a slot at South by Southwest later in the year. And I will also be shooting some videos as we release more singles.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw