Spin Off inspirations: jamesjamesjames on Ministry of Sound mixes and Hailey Bieber smoothies

by Check Check | Thursday Jul 04, 2024 | Features

jamesjamesjames, Supplied

Electronic music extrovert jamesjamesjames will close proceedings on the Sound Archive stage at this year’s Spin Off festival, happening at Adelaide Showground on Kaurna Country on Friday 19 July. The Sound Archive lineup also includes Swedish club guru DJ Seinfeld, Kaytetye house producer RONA., UK bass music obsessive Club Angel, and more.

In the lead-up to the event, we spoke to the Brisbane/Meanjin-based DJ and producer about his biggest inspirations, which range from on-brand music selections (Ministry of Sound’s Avicii-centric Clubbers Guide To 2011) to whimsical internet references (Hailey Bieber’s strawberry glaze smoothie).

Despite claiming “i cant dj,” jamesjamesjames has been an in-demand selector in recent years, appearing at events such as Mode, Beyond the Valley and Splendour in the Grass. Remixes of Charli XCX and Ben Böhmer introduced jamesjamesjames’ handiwork to listeners in Europe and the UK, and 2023’s Silversun – a collaborative EP with Willaris. K – showcased james’ production chops.

jamesjamesjames' biggest inspirations

The jamesjamesjames origin story revolves around three DJ mixes. The first, A State of Trance Episode 306, came out in 2007 and featured tracks by Markus Schulz, Paul van Dyk (feat. Jessic Sutta) and the Aly & Fila remix of Mungo’s “Summer Blush.”

Equally important was 2012’s A State of Trance 550, released ahead of ASOT’s massive European and North American tour headlined by Armin van Buuren. The compilation included van Buuren’s remixes of Solarstone’s “Seven Cities” and John O’Callaghan and Audrey Gallagher’s “Big Sky,” as well as deep cuts from Dash Berlin, James Holden and ARTY.

But the mix that had the biggest impact on jamesjamesjames was Ministry of Sound’s Clubbers Guide to 2011, the full track-listing of which is tattooed on james’ back under the heading “R.I.P. Avicii.”

Avicii’s Tim Berg opened the mix with “Seek Bromance.” The comp also included Avicii’s remix of Nadia Ali’s “Rapture” and Sgt Slick’s edit of the late Swedish producer’s 2010 single “Malo.”

Beyond nostalgic EDM, jamesjamesjames is inspired by sunsets, the sea, and, of course, the supersaw synths that powered the golden era of trance. The Beverly Hills-born DJ cites Harmony Korine’s so-bad-it’s-good film Spring Breakers as another source of inspiration, and admits to a fondness for Hailey Bieber’s “strawberry glaze skin smoothie.” Though, james suggests spiking the recipe with “blue spirulina, sea moss and extra camu camu.”

Jamesjamesjames’ live performances are – apparently – influenced by David Guetta’s Fuck Me I’m Famous mix series, the Majestic Casual label and “rio filter eyes.” Hyperpop legend SOPHIE continues to inspire james’ creativity three years after her death, and “Miami 2 Ibiza” – a Swedish House Mafia and Tinie Tempah song that namechecks two famously trashy dance music meccas – sums up where jamesjamesjames’ music would best be enjoyed.