Jose James at The Glee Glasgow

Band on the Wall presents… A Band on the Wall Fundraiser

“Love in a Time of Madness” is Jose’s 4th album for Blue Note, on which he is crafting a new sound and style inspired by influences such as Frank Ocean, Usher, Miguel and John Legend, and extending the R&B and Hip Hop thread that has run throughout much of his work. “This album is everything I love about music. For me it’s all coming full circle. I discovered jazz through hip-hop and rap tracks produced by Qtip, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Prince Paul, RZA, Rick Rubin and Madlib. So sampling Donald Byrd and Ronnie Laws and working with beat makers is so rewarding. I’ve always had R&B in my work going all the way to my first albums (released by Giles Peterson)

Sonically, James was inspired by modern approaches to pop identity and songwriting—the holistic vision of Grimes, the creative engine of Kanye West, the curated image of FKA Twigs, the genre-mashing of The Internet, the sonic space of Bryson Tiller, and even the savvy studio choices of Ellie Goulding. “There’s a resurgence of something I haven’t seen since the ’90s or ’00s, when hip-hop, R&B, and pop were converging in really thrilling ways through folks like Tribe, Erykah Badu, or D’Angelo,” says James. “There’s a whole new generation now that’s unafraid to blend it all together”. “Movement has been on my mind. Not just hearts and minds – I want people to hit the dance floor. I like Jamie xx as much as I like Miles Davis”.