Born to free-spirited parents, November James spent the first few months of his life alone. Unable to look after him, NovemberJames’ Mother left him in the care of his Father, who in turn left him within foster care. Alone in the world, November was saved by the grave of his Grandmother who demanded he be brought back to the family and raised him as her own. While his Father came round every once in a while, NovemberJames spent his formative years alone, and while toys weren’t readily available, November found solace in his Grandmother’s piano.
In third grade, NovemberJames enrolled in a music class where he learnt to play the violin, viola, trumpet, cello, trombone, clarinet, xylophone, and everything else that the school could provide. Alongside his music classes, NovemberJames also joined the youth choir where he performed songs on the piano and sang lead vocals, sharpening his musical abilities and starting his journey towards an evolving musical career.
Inspired by his formative years and that constant feeling of being alone, NovemberJames’ first release is easily one of this year’s most evocative and cathartic, combining soul, jazz, and ambient sounds into a textured dual single release. Titled ‘Project11’, the new single brave, multi-dimensional, and beautifully emotive, offering a perfect illustration of rich, calming sound and melancholy imagery. In his own words, NovemberJames’ expressed his feelings towards ‘Alone’; “I wasn’t sad when I made this. I needed a title, so I closed my eyes and listened… The weeping piano sounds like the unstable foundation on which I was born is heard in the vinyl effect."
He continued, “This SloFi vibe can go a lot of ways. I’ve never released my own material until I heard ‘Alone’. I felt that people don’t wanna hear instrumentals, but I go to my Spotify for Artist app and see five people were listening. Not big numbers, not even good numbers, but to be able to invoke just a little bit of joy in someone means more to me than being left alone.”
Backed by the equally affecting ‘November In December’, NovemberJames’ debut release is one of pure emotion, and if you don’t find yourself in a gentle, emotive daze after hearing it, then you’re just not listening hard enough.
You can stream both tracks above via Spotify and be sure to follow him on his social media pages below, so you never miss a release.
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