Nate James

In 2005 Nate James was nominated for two MOBO awards. In 2006 he won the Best International Act at the Italian Festivalbar. In 2007 he released his second album, Kingdom Falls, on his Frofunk label. Base recently caught up with the electro-funk-soul star for a retrospective chat.

What have you been upto today?
I’ve been down the gym because I’ve a video shoot on Wednesday so I wanted to make sure I’m trimmed and toned and ready for the enslaught of the cameras. This is the video for High Times.

What does the video entail?
The concept of the video is basically a day in the life of me going from when I wake up to literally when I go on stage an perform. Basically having a camera strapped to my waist which is going to film me, head and shoulders, in various locations all around London. Which I think will suit the song. I’m really looking forward to it. It’ll be good to do a video in London.

Did you choose particular venues and locations in London that are special to you?
Yeh, I’m 27 so I like to go out and have a good time so there’s a lot of my regular haunts like Brick Lane, Camden, Shoreditch, Hoxton Square. Just the sort of places that I love about London. Obviously the sort of the touristy things as well like the Bullet and the some really good views from up high with me performing on roofs. So I had a lot of input into where we were going to film.

Your album has been out for a few months now, can you tell me a little bit about it:
It’s the first album I’ve released on my own label, which proving to be a very interesting experience itself. It’s great, I work with a good mix of producers and song writers that I’ve worked with before and a few people I’ve met through MySpace. I love the new album, it’s very me. My influences range through Massive Attack and Level 42 to Soul2Soul and D’Angelo and so on. I’ve tried to encorporate all my influences - whether it be D&B, dance, house, soul – into this album. It’s soul music with a twist. I’m really pleased with the outcome and the response to it so far it fantastic so I’m really happy.

It does have quite an eclectic range, it’s R&B, it’s electro, it’s soul, it’s jazzy, how do you describe it?
I just say experimental soul. It’s just soul with a little bit of a difference, a bit of spice. The thing is there’s Lemar and Craig David and I love what those guys do and I think they’ve got great voices but I find them very safe with their music, and I don’t mean that as an insult, they do the music that will sell to masses, it’s very nice and very sweet. I don’t want to sound righteous but I want to be distinguished as a new soul guy. They’re already doing that thing, it’s already been done, I’d rather do something a bit fresher, a bit different.

Do you think your music has evolved over your two albums?
As evolved as it can be over two albums. If I was the likes of Michael Jackson or Stevie Wonder, fifteen albums downt he track, it would be obviously a lot more noticeable. The first album was made with the intention of it being very reminscent of the Motown vibe. With this new album there’s no restriction for me because I financed it myself. I wanted to make an album that shows of me as a character and my different tastes in music. I think people have cottoned on to the fact that I’m a funky, excentric kind of guy and I think that comes through on the album.

Has that got anything to do with the fact that you’re half American and half British?
My Mum and Dad are very much into their soul music. I think the more eclectic ravers that I’ve found I liked are more from me just growing up. Looking at the music that’s been in the UK over the past 10-15 years there’s some amazing acts that you wouldn’t necessarily liken to soul or expect someone who loves soul music to actually appreciate but I do love everything from Coldplay and Linkin Park and Jamie Lavelle, the more sort of quirky artists that do things a bit differently.

Who are you listening to at the moment?
Ben Westbeach is in my iPod a lot at the moment. He’s wicked. He’s such a wicked guy and his whole vibe of just blending different flavours. He comes from a very D&B background and it’s very apparent on the album and it’s got some sort of Jamiroquai twist to it as well which I really like. Again, it’s a fresh sound, it’s something different.

Have you got any musical guilty pleasures?
I don’t sit in my house and listen to opera or anything like that. I’m quite random. If you were come to my house for dinner and you’d say “Nate, what the hell are you listening to?” “Ah, I got this CD in Japan. It’s Brazilian Boss Beat this, that and the other” “Oh, ok.” I’ve got mixed flavours, what can I say?

The last twelve months have been fairly big for you, talk me through some of the highs and lows.
The main low of the industry and doing it yourself and independently is the finance aspect. Don’t get me wrong, all the cheques come in and life is good but by the same token you have to watch what you’re doing very carefully because you could end up screwed basically. That business side of things detracts from what I love doing which is making the music and performing. That annoys me a little bit. But as far as highs go I’ve performed with Erykah Badu, Snoop Dogg, I’ve won awards in Europe for Best International artist, nominated for MOBOs and got my second album out. The highs, by far, outweigh the lows. I love what I do, it’s a dream come true.

You’re on the soundtrack for the new movie by David Schwimmer, aren’t you?
I couldn’t believe it, it was hilarious. My manager phoned me and said “You know Shaun Of The Dead? Well the guy who directed that is working with David Schwimmer and they’re making a feature film together called Run Fatboy Run and your tune is in it”. I was like “Naaaah”. I love what I do and I don’t see myself as a massive artist, this to me is a hobby, I love doing it. It’s fun, it’s enjoyment, I don’t really expect to get a lot out of it, it’s just me making music and doing what I love. So when things like this happen it’s like “Oh yeh, by the way, this big Hollywood movie is using your song” I ask why me? It’s a nice feeling. I’m a massive Friends fan so I’m hoping that Dave might drop me a line to say “Yo, love the album” but I doubt that’ll happen.

You’re very big in Europe and the Far East, how do you cope with that kind of fame?
It’s different. It’s kind of nice but it’s overbearing. For example I went to the Brick Lane festival yesterday and I had some beers with some mates and some people were like “Oh, I love your tunes” but the British are very conservative, they don’t say anything silly. They’re very down on the level whereas the Japanese, and the Italians especially, because I’m viewed as a superstar over there as in the likes of Rhianna and Lily Allen. It’s just like “AAHH, there’s Nate James”. It’s mad. It’s very bizarre. There’s nothing that can prepare you for that kind of reaction. I write tunes and I love what I do but nothing could ever prepare me for winning awards and fans downstairs in the lobby when I come down for breakfast looking quite crusty because I’ve had no sleep and want an autograph and a picture and I’m like “Are you serious? Look at the state of me”. It’s cool though. But sometimes I just want to chill out and be myself. It’s a cross to bear and it comes with the job.

You’ve got some interesting gigs coming up. The Bedford Bandstand event at the O2’s Indigo and then also the Royal Festival Hall. Tell me about those two.
The Royal Festival Hall is something for the police. It’s like a massive awards thing they do and they asked me to do a performance. So that’s cool. I love being onstage, I could be onstage in the basement of some shoddy house, I don’t care. As long as I’m with my boys and we’re performing it’s all good. I’m looking forward to the Indigo, that’s going to awesome. I went to see Prince the other week and went to after party and just watched this master at work. The Indigo rooms is such a cool little venue, so I’m very excited about that.

Have you got any collaborations lined up for the future?
It’s difficult especially with the artists I want to work with because I don’t really aim low. It’s difficult with people’s schedules because they’re so intense and everyone is left right here there and everywhere. I’m doing a show with Musiq Soulchild and Ginuwine on the 12th October and I’ve been a fan of Musiq for a while. The neo-soul boys there’s the cool cats and the safes.

What’s the best thing about Suffolk?
The atmosphere. It’s a peace haven for me. It’s just so quiet. A walk along the river is a real place to gather your thoughts and come back to normality and just chill out.

If I had your latest album on an MP3, what would be the best activity or situation to compliment your album?
From the start going through to the end, my album is a getting-ready-to-go-out kind of album. At the start you’ve got the more funky, uptempo vibe to get you hyped, to get you excited. Then you go out, you have a dance, you have a few drinks. Then you pull, then you take them home. The second half of the album is your real kind of smoochy soul-soul and then the last song is Therapy which is about a marriage break-up so maybe DON’T GET TO TRACK TWELVE! Just play the uptempo to get you vibed, the mid-tempo to get you laid, and then turn it off. Stop at track twelve or thirteen, don’t get to the therapy one. It’s a great tune but not appropriate for when you’re laying beside a girl.