Originally hailing from Port Macquarie, Patrick James began making a name for himself after relocating to Sydney, where he followed in the footsteps of superstar performers like Passenger, Ed Sheeran, and Vance Joy, busking on the streets.
After catching the ears of homegrown heroes Boy & Bear, James was tapped to support the band as they played to tens of thousands of fans across the nation on their biggest national Australian tour to date.
Having released two EPs, sold out headline shows around the country, and supported the likes of Emma Louise and Josh Pyke, James is now ready to drop his eagerly anticipated debut album, Outlier, on Friday, 16th October and he’s shared with us some of the secrets the album holds.
In New Light
Being the first track of the album, I wanted to make the first song an energetic one. This song did that for me and lyrically it has an optimistic outlook. If I was to give a general explanation of what the song means for me, it would be that every day is sort of a re-birth.
I hope that when people listen to this song, it has accurately conveys the themes and ideas that I had in my head, and that most people can relate to it. I think it’s a good starting point for the deeper lyrical content that the rest of the album holds.
California Song
Like ‘In New Light’, California Song continues with themes of starting again, making mistakes, forbidden love and following a new path, even if you don’t know where you’ll end up. The Lyrics “meet me in California ” is meant to suggest wanting to be in a place where your slate is clean and there is only you and the one you love, and that’s all that matters for that moment.
I had the chorus floating around for a while and had sort of forgotten about it, then the verses came a lot later and it wasn’t until I actually started trying to record the song that the verses fell into place properly. Bruce Springsteen is really where the influence came from for this song, especially in the organ/synth sounds.
Bugs
I wrote the song about 6 years ago in a small country town called Port Macquarie, in an even smaller yellow bedroom. At the time, I wrote the song about a number of different things that happened in my last year of school.
It was hands down the most challenging song I’ve ever recorded; there must be about 20 different versions of this song recorded and worked on throughout the last couple of years, but I finally came to a point where I found what I was looking for and I was 100% happy.
I recorded it myself and with my band mates and long term friends Scotty Steven and Mark Smithers producing. It just felt right for this song to do it that way, there is always the danger of over doing a tune like this as it is so simple.
I really wanted to capture what the band and I do live and keep the rawness of the song as the central importance but also add a few new elements to complement the direction and vibe of the new recording.
Kings & Queens
Over the last few years of touring, this song has been one that has stayed with me. It has acted as a breath in between the full band tracks that I love playing.
When it came to recording this track, I just wanted to capture that exact vibe of the live performance and not let it become too complicated. The recording is exactly how people have heard it live and too me that’s why it is a special moment for me on the record.
Covered In Rain
‘Covered in Rain’ was the first song I wrote for this album that really opened my mind up to go in a slightly different direction to my previous EP’s. I wanted to capture a timeless feel with this song and tap into a more powerful delivery with the vocals.
This was one of the tracks that just fell into place in the studio very quickly and felt easier than some of the others to record.
So Grand
I have actually had this song since around the start of 2013 but never quite hit the nail on the head when it came to the arrangement. There were a lot of pre-production days for this track to make sure we had the correct structure and instrumentation for the song.
Originally it was a banjo based track, which felt right at the time but as we started the album process it soon became clear that that was just not going to work for the consistency and sound of the album.
Lyrically, it reflects on coming out of a state of mind by just simply ‘looking forward’ and not living in the past.
Far Away
‘Far Away’ has probably had the biggest sonic transformation since writing it, to recording it; when I was choosing these songs for the album, I wasn’t completely sure of this one, but once it was messed around with and given a slightly new angle, I was really happy with it.
The trumpet’s at the end of this song is probably one of my favourite parts of the record. It sort of has the vibe of a final pay off once it comes in and the song fully made sense to me once that was added.
Interlude
This was a last minute addition to the record. I always wanted to have a song that sort of bridged the gap between the triumphant vibe of the first half of the record and the more somber second half.
It’s a really simple piano piece and the only song that is sung in falsetto.
Make Me Stronger
Make Me Stronger is really about trying to shake a feeling or an emotion you don’t want to have. One of my favourite moments on the album is when the full band enters in the second verse. I love the natural push and pull of the broken drum beat.
For a long time I thought this song was only going to have percussion in the last build section, but it was a great realisation of really listening to someone else’s (my producers) outlook of the song and trying to step out of ‘the writers’ shoes for a minute.
Sometimes it takes a fresh set of ears to turn a song on its head and make it really work.
Running Cold
I guess some of my biggest influences have come from music that has been written/recorded with a guitar and a few voices together, and I see this as the real singer-songwriter moment on the record. For me it brings back all those memories of singing in a choir perhaps or being in bands at school.
It’s a really innocent thing but when its done well its magical. I hope we achieved some of that magic with this number.
May
This song is probably my favourite of the album. For a long time I wanted to write a song that felt sad and melancholic, but actually has a hopeful meaning. Lyrically, this tune just sums up the album for me and ties everything together.
‘Seasons always changing’ relates back to the first track in a way. The concept that things are always moving around us without us evening really knowing. I wanted that to be the theme that is portrayed by the end of the record.
