One of the by-products of living in our global village is that our only musical limits are those of our own imagination. Flamenco meets filter-disco? Brazilian samba meets '80s dance-pop? African folk meets epic breakbeats? All it takes is talent and inspiration, two qualities which James Bryan certainly possesses. As he proves on his solo debut, Beautiful World, the less likely the hybrid, the more exhilarating the result.
James is one of Canada's best-respected young guitarists, producers and songwriters, having penned over a dozen top 40 hits for various artists, co-created The Philosopher Kings and Prozzak and played with a who's-who of the country's rock and pop royalty, but Beautiful World is by any measure a major step. It's an album that at once embraces the world and introduces James to it.
The eclecticism you'll find on this record stems from an unusual background: in St. Catharines, Ontario, a small city known chiefly as a retirement community, James's hippie parents gave him a guitar and introduced him to the music of Jimi Hendrix. The nine-year-old took to it immediately, and by age twelve, he was playing in a basement punk band and teaching lessons to students much older than he. "Some of them had problems taking directions from a kid," he admits, "but most of them came back."
During high school, James played in new wave cover bands, while also immersing himself in flamenco music. He enrolled at the University of Toronto to study classical guitar, but by then, the jazz bug had bitten. As James remembers, "It was all solos, so it was very cool to me at the time."
When he wasn't taking lessons from Canadian legend Eli Kassner (who taught Liona Boyd, among others), James would jam with students from the jazz program; together with a few friends, they formed The Philosopher Kings, making music that allowed them to stretch out their jazz chops while drawing audiences in with funk-based grooves, pop melodies, and Gerald Eaton's soulful voice. Their live shows impressed right away: after their second gig, Chris Smith (who now manages K-OS and Nelly Furtado, among others) offered to take them on as his first-ever band, and after only their seventh show, they were signed to Sony Canada.
Cue six years of touring, from Brazil to Japan. "We really played our asses off," says James. "That's how we won every fan -- one at a time." The Kings shared
the stage with legends like Al Green and Kool and the Gang, and had a memorable US tour alongside The Fugees and Maxwell. James recalls, "Lauryn Hill and I would jam Billie Holiday and Stevie Wonder tunes backstage before the shows, and Wyclef and I would exchange guitar licks. It was incredible!"
The band's three albums, The Philosopher Kings (1994), Famous, Rich, and Beautiful (1997), and One Night Stand (1999) spawned hits like "Charms" and "Hurts to Love You," shot through with James's unmistakeable riffs. Most of the band's songs were being written by Eaton and keyboardist Jon Levine, but James was eager to flex his compositional muscles. He found a perfect opportunity, ironically, after a bust-up with Levine's bassist brother Jay.
"We had a ridiculously big fight," James remembers, "and it ended in a left hook, I'm embarrassed to say."
The two decided to patch things up by trying to write a song together, and the chemistry, surprisingly, was instant. Out of this partnership grew the cartoon Prozzak, dance-pop precursors to the Gorillaz, in which James voiced the muscle-bound Austrian guitarist Milo, while Levine was the English singer Simon. Their first album, Hot Show, went quadruple platinum, and their second, Saturday People, went platinum on the back of arena shows inspired by KISS -- complete with massive inflatable cartoon heads, video screens and lasers.
Levine and James would go on to form the aptly named Lefthook Entertainment, who produce Fe Fe Dobson and a growing stable of Canadian and US-based artists. The Kings were eventually put on hold because of the members' side projects, and James played on most of them, including Gerald Eaton's album as Jarvis Church, Eaton and rhythm guitarist Brian West's "Track and Field" production of Nelly Furtado, and Jon Levine's solo projects and production of Jacksoul's album Sleepless.
On his own, James sought to explore a new range of music -- on the production side, the eclectic house work of Daft Punk, Basement Jaxx and Masters at Work, and on the guitar side, old-school soul and Latin funk by George Benson and Santana. "Those were influences that I was feeling strongly were part of me," he explains, "and I wasn't really getting them out."
The first thing you'll hear on Beautiful World is the first thing James composed -- a majestic but cut-up horn line. It's followed by a winding guitar line, and then kicking French-touch-inspired beats, with Jay Levine's falsetto, vocoded chorus insisting that the music take him "Higher." "That's just pure energy," says James, "a positive good-vibe feeling."
This energy sets the tone for the whole album, which brings together soulful house and vibrant but melodic guitar lines in constantly remarkable ways, melding the organic, the electric and the eclectic. "Bounce" starts with a dark, circular bass line, adds an insistent piano montuno, and tops it off with warm jazz picking that brings Wes Montgomery to mind. "Trust" loops wispy violins over a crisp contemporary hip-hop beat and adds a keening minor-key acoustic guitar lament recalling Sting's "Fragile." "Like a Lion," inspired by a trip to Jamaica, is wah-wah-seasoned and organ-drenched chill-out material made for an evening on the beach. Meanwhile, "Jelly Walk" is retro-futurist swing with programmed swing drums and horns and cheeky guitar curlicues -- you can just imagine a robot Fred Astaire elegantly dancing along.
James and Levine also worked together on the downtempo track "Kelly," a Sade-inspired moment of respite after the all-out romp of "Systems." The song is delivered with breathy intensity by Gavin Bradley, a Lefthook artist who has remixed the likes of Beck, Sheryl Crow, and Nelly Furtado.
Other guest vocalists include Renee Wynter (whose "My Baby" topped Canadian R'n'B charts in 2003) on the album's title track, and Alessa, whose clear and subtly emotive singing wowed James when he first heard it -- after being friends with her for a decade. "She called me up to hang out," recalls James, "and I asked her if she wanted to go in the studio, and we came up with 'Sunny Song' that day. It was the first time I'd heard her voice, and it just totally blew me away."
Alessa's vocals grace two other tracks on the album, including a gleeful, samba-flavoured cover of New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle," a live favourite. As for "Left My Broken Heart in Brooklyn," it's an all-out, adrenalized disco house stomper where James builds layers of irrepressibly funky lines as Alessa recreates an unforgettable night on the tiles.
The album ends with the cinematic "Child Song," which was inspired both by a trip to Kenya when he jammed with Massai musicians, and by the book Where Is My Home?: Children in War, featuring drawings by African child soldiers in a refugee camp. For James, "Some of the images are really shocking because the children are getting out all the violence that they lived through, but some of them are really beautiful too. Some of these kids are not even teenagers, and they've experienced the worst possible side of human nature. But the last part of the book shows their dreams of what they want their life to be, and it's all the most basic needs: love, family, home, and a future. It's a bittersweet song, but there's still some hope."
As the concluding solo soars and then trails off, and the whistling refrain fades away, you may find yourself possessed by the irresistible urge to return to track one and let that majestic horn line take you higher again. Go ahead -- give in. You won't be alone: James Bryan's infectious debut is destined to be on repeat play in cars, living rooms and clubs all around this beautiful world.
The Band
Seeing James perform live takes his music to new heights,due in no small part to the incredible musicians that play in his band.All are friends,who James also happens to make great music with,which makes for a warm, feel-good vibe that starts onstage,but inevitably fills each venue..The lineup includes David Gouveia on percussion and electronic drums, John "JK" Kanakis on bass,Wilson Laurencin on drums and electronic drums,and stunning vocalist/best friend Alessa.
James is one of Canada's best-respected young guitarists, producers and songwriters, having penned over a dozen top 40 hits for various artists, co-created The Philosopher Kings and Prozzak and played with a who's-who of the country's rock and pop royalty, but Beautiful World is by any measure a major step. It's an album that at once embraces the world and introduces James to it.
The eclecticism you'll find on this record stems from an unusual background: in St. Catharines, Ontario, a small city known chiefly as a retirement community, James's hippie parents gave him a guitar and introduced him to the music of Jimi Hendrix. The nine-year-old took to it immediately, and by age twelve, he was playing in a basement punk band and teaching lessons to students much older than he. "Some of them had problems taking directions from a kid," he admits, "but most of them came back."
During high school, James played in new wave cover bands, while also immersing himself in flamenco music. He enrolled at the University of Toronto to study classical guitar, but by then, the jazz bug had bitten. As James remembers, "It was all solos, so it was very cool to me at the time."
When he wasn't taking lessons from Canadian legend Eli Kassner (who taught Liona Boyd, among others), James would jam with students from the jazz program; together with a few friends, they formed The Philosopher Kings, making music that allowed them to stretch out their jazz chops while drawing audiences in with funk-based grooves, pop melodies, and Gerald Eaton's soulful voice. Their live shows impressed right away: after their second gig, Chris Smith (who now manages K-OS and Nelly Furtado, among others) offered to take them on as his first-ever band, and after only their seventh show, they were signed to Sony Canada.
Cue six years of touring, from Brazil to Japan. "We really played our asses off," says James. "That's how we won every fan -- one at a time." The Kings shared
the stage with legends like Al Green and Kool and the Gang, and had a memorable US tour alongside The Fugees and Maxwell. James recalls, "Lauryn Hill and I would jam Billie Holiday and Stevie Wonder tunes backstage before the shows, and Wyclef and I would exchange guitar licks. It was incredible!"
The band's three albums, The Philosopher Kings (1994), Famous, Rich, and Beautiful (1997), and One Night Stand (1999) spawned hits like "Charms" and "Hurts to Love You," shot through with James's unmistakeable riffs. Most of the band's songs were being written by Eaton and keyboardist Jon Levine, but James was eager to flex his compositional muscles. He found a perfect opportunity, ironically, after a bust-up with Levine's bassist brother Jay.
"We had a ridiculously big fight," James remembers, "and it ended in a left hook, I'm embarrassed to say."
The two decided to patch things up by trying to write a song together, and the chemistry, surprisingly, was instant. Out of this partnership grew the cartoon Prozzak, dance-pop precursors to the Gorillaz, in which James voiced the muscle-bound Austrian guitarist Milo, while Levine was the English singer Simon. Their first album, Hot Show, went quadruple platinum, and their second, Saturday People, went platinum on the back of arena shows inspired by KISS -- complete with massive inflatable cartoon heads, video screens and lasers.
Levine and James would go on to form the aptly named Lefthook Entertainment, who produce Fe Fe Dobson and a growing stable of Canadian and US-based artists. The Kings were eventually put on hold because of the members' side projects, and James played on most of them, including Gerald Eaton's album as Jarvis Church, Eaton and rhythm guitarist Brian West's "Track and Field" production of Nelly Furtado, and Jon Levine's solo projects and production of Jacksoul's album Sleepless.
On his own, James sought to explore a new range of music -- on the production side, the eclectic house work of Daft Punk, Basement Jaxx and Masters at Work, and on the guitar side, old-school soul and Latin funk by George Benson and Santana. "Those were influences that I was feeling strongly were part of me," he explains, "and I wasn't really getting them out."
The first thing you'll hear on Beautiful World is the first thing James composed -- a majestic but cut-up horn line. It's followed by a winding guitar line, and then kicking French-touch-inspired beats, with Jay Levine's falsetto, vocoded chorus insisting that the music take him "Higher." "That's just pure energy," says James, "a positive good-vibe feeling."
This energy sets the tone for the whole album, which brings together soulful house and vibrant but melodic guitar lines in constantly remarkable ways, melding the organic, the electric and the eclectic. "Bounce" starts with a dark, circular bass line, adds an insistent piano montuno, and tops it off with warm jazz picking that brings Wes Montgomery to mind. "Trust" loops wispy violins over a crisp contemporary hip-hop beat and adds a keening minor-key acoustic guitar lament recalling Sting's "Fragile." "Like a Lion," inspired by a trip to Jamaica, is wah-wah-seasoned and organ-drenched chill-out material made for an evening on the beach. Meanwhile, "Jelly Walk" is retro-futurist swing with programmed swing drums and horns and cheeky guitar curlicues -- you can just imagine a robot Fred Astaire elegantly dancing along.
James and Levine also worked together on the downtempo track "Kelly," a Sade-inspired moment of respite after the all-out romp of "Systems." The song is delivered with breathy intensity by Gavin Bradley, a Lefthook artist who has remixed the likes of Beck, Sheryl Crow, and Nelly Furtado.
Other guest vocalists include Renee Wynter (whose "My Baby" topped Canadian R'n'B charts in 2003) on the album's title track, and Alessa, whose clear and subtly emotive singing wowed James when he first heard it -- after being friends with her for a decade. "She called me up to hang out," recalls James, "and I asked her if she wanted to go in the studio, and we came up with 'Sunny Song' that day. It was the first time I'd heard her voice, and it just totally blew me away."
Alessa's vocals grace two other tracks on the album, including a gleeful, samba-flavoured cover of New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle," a live favourite. As for "Left My Broken Heart in Brooklyn," it's an all-out, adrenalized disco house stomper where James builds layers of irrepressibly funky lines as Alessa recreates an unforgettable night on the tiles.
The album ends with the cinematic "Child Song," which was inspired both by a trip to Kenya when he jammed with Massai musicians, and by the book Where Is My Home?: Children in War, featuring drawings by African child soldiers in a refugee camp. For James, "Some of the images are really shocking because the children are getting out all the violence that they lived through, but some of them are really beautiful too. Some of these kids are not even teenagers, and they've experienced the worst possible side of human nature. But the last part of the book shows their dreams of what they want their life to be, and it's all the most basic needs: love, family, home, and a future. It's a bittersweet song, but there's still some hope."
As the concluding solo soars and then trails off, and the whistling refrain fades away, you may find yourself possessed by the irresistible urge to return to track one and let that majestic horn line take you higher again. Go ahead -- give in. You won't be alone: James Bryan's infectious debut is destined to be on repeat play in cars, living rooms and clubs all around this beautiful world.
The Band
Seeing James perform live takes his music to new heights,due in no small part to the incredible musicians that play in his band.All are friends,who James also happens to make great music with,which makes for a warm, feel-good vibe that starts onstage,but inevitably fills each venue..The lineup includes David Gouveia on percussion and electronic drums, John "JK" Kanakis on bass,Wilson Laurencin on drums and electronic drums,and stunning vocalist/best friend Alessa.
