Loraine James, also known as Whatever the Weather, is a British electronic producer and musician.

Early life

Loraine James was raised in an Alma Estate tower block in Enfield, North London. Her interest in music began in childhood. She took piano lessons, and was allured by 2000s alternative bands like Paramore and

Death Cab for Cutie Death Cab for Cutie is an American rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. The band is currently composed of Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Nick Harmer (bass), Dave Depper (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Zac Rae (keyb ...

, as well as the calypso and funk music her mother introduced her to. In her adolescence, James took an interest in electronic music and was inspired by IDM artists like

Squarepusher Tom Jenkinson (born 17 January 1975), known professionally as Squarepusher, is an English electronic musician, record producer, bassist, multi-instrumentalist and DJ. His music spans several genres including drum and bass, IDM, acid house, ac ...

and

Telefon Tel Aviv Telefon Tel Aviv is a New Orleans–derived, Chicago-based American electronic music act, formerly comprising Charles Cooper and Joshua Eustis. Since Cooper's accidental death in 2009, Telefon Tel Aviv has continued with Eustis as the sole officia ...

. She majored in commercial music at the

University of Westminster The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Polyte ...

. Despite this, James planned on following in the footsteps of her mother and pursuing a career in education. James is queer.

Career

James continued to work on music during her spare time, producing a number of experimental electronic tracks. Starting 2015, she released many of these tracks on

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

. In 2017, she self-released ''Detail'' before signing with electronic music record label

Hyperdub __NOTOC__ Hyperdub is a British, London-based electronic music record label and former webzine, founded by Steve Goodman, a.k.a. Kode9. The label was formed in 2004, and grew out of the UK's early dubstep scene. Artists signed to the label have ...

''.'' In 2019, her

-released debut album ''For You and I'' received significant attention and topped end-of-year lists in publications including ''

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...

'' and ''

DJ Mag ''DJ Magazine'' (also known as ''DJ Mag'') is a British monthly magazine dedicated to electronic dance music and DJs. Founded in 1991, the magazine is adapted for distribution in the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, France, Italy, Lat ...

,'' where it was named Favourite Album of the Year. The following year, James released two EPs; ''Hmm'' in July followed by ''Nothing'' in October, a four-track EP featuring a cadre of international vocalists such as Uruguayan singer Lila Tirando a Violeta, Iranian-born rapper Tardast, and HTRK's Jonnine Standish. In early 2021, she remotely collaborated with Dominican performance artist and dancer Isabel Lewis for CTM's 2021 virtual edition. Her second album, ''

Reflection Reflection or reflexion may refer to: Science and technology * Reflection (physics), a common wave phenomenon ** Specular reflection, reflection from a smooth surface *** Mirror image, a reflection in a mirror or in water ** Signal reflection, in ...

'', was conceived during the COVID-19 lockdown after she had quit her teaching job to focus on music. Released in June 2021, the experimental album encompasses a variety of genres and was lauded by critics. In February 2022, James announced that she had adopted the moniker Whatever the Weather and that an eponymous album would be released in April 2022. The lead single "17°C" and its accompanying music video were previewed. The following month, she released a collaborative EP with TSVI, titled 053. Her third release of the year, James' album ''Building Something Beautiful For Me'' was released on October 7, 2022. It is an homage to American composer Julius Eastman and is inspired by a mix of his unreleased and previously available works.

Discography

Albums

*''Detail'' (2018) *''For You and I'' (2019) *''

'' (2021) *''Whatever the Weather'' (2022) *''Building Something Beautiful For Me'' (2022)

Extended plays

*''Nothing'' (2020) *''Hmm'' (2020)

References

External links

Loraine James
on

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming s ...

Loraine James discography
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...

Loraine James
on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

Loraine James
on Instagram {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Loraine Living people Musicians from London Black British musicians English experimental musicians English electronic musicians English record producers British women record producers English LGBT musicians 1995 births