James Smith On ‘Golden Age’ & New Music: ‘I Have A Lot More To Say Now’

James Smith, interview with The Groove.

‘I just want to make massive hits that come from an organic place.’

Dressed in his everyday uniform – Adidas tracksuit and baker boy hat – James Smith leans into a video call from his studio with the charm of a London old timer who could have easily spilled out a wartime film set.

New single ‘Golden Age’, out today, plays with the contrast between nostalgia and the future, dreaming and reality. Mirroring the by-gone days of industry glamour with the bleakness of life as a 26-year-old today, James Smith has packed a big sound into his new track, as timeless as it is of the zeitgeist.

‘Golden Age’ promises to get in your head before its over, and it's an extension of its writer’s extroverted, effervescent personality. As James Smith gears up for his next album, and what he hopes will be a turning point in his career, we spoke about the new music – and what it means to be a musician in the current financial climate.

Check out the full interview below.

James Smith, performing ‘Golden Age’ live at EartH. Image credit: The Groove

This interview has been edited for clarity.

Interviewer: Let’s get straight into it – your new single, ‘Golden Age’, what do you want to tell us about that?

James: So ‘Golden Age’ was the first track I wrote… and it gave me the inspiration to start writing this new album. I spent a lot of time last year in the singer-songwriter world where I'm just with a guitar. I done a tour round Europe at the start of the year where I took a band with me, and it just felt so good to play a big band-y song. 

It's a song I'm really proud of, and feels like a new step somewhere else. Producing it and writing it and everything was a real work of love. I put a lot into it. I wanted to create something new that would challenge me. And I'm really happy with how it's all turned out.

“I’m ready to get to the bigger crowds, basically – that’s what I’m trying to manifest in the music. This whole record is way bigger than anything I’ve done before, and I just hope to be able to reflect that in the shows as well.”

You're saying that it’s influenced your future sound, how has that affected the shape of your next project?

James: Well, it's taking me out of acoustic guitar land, and it's put me more onto the electric map, which is maybe a bit more exciting, and translates live really well. I think it means that I’m ready to get to the bigger crowds, basically – that’s what I'm trying to manifest in the music. This whole record is way bigger than anything I've done before, and I just hope to be able to reflect that in the shows as well.

I’ve seen a couple of people comparing (‘Golden Age’) to a bit of an Oasis vibe. How do you feel about that?

James: I absolutely love Oasis and I'm aware that it sits in the same sort of world. It is such a compliment, because I relate to them a lot, I'm also a working class lad that loves an Adidas tracksuit. I think they're absolutely amazing. And the fact I didn't start with that type of music annoys me a little because I'm like, oh, you've tried to be a soft boy for so long, but it's not the real you.

Who is the real you?

James: I think I'm a bit more lary, I'm quite a boisterous man. I love having a joke and a load of pints down the pub, it's a massive part of my personality to be so sociable. But then the music up until this point has been very in my feels, which I definitely have, but the music I love has a lot more grit to it. You watch Liam Gallagher on stage and he's such a big character and then the music is totally perfect for it, it all of a sudden becomes way more magic in my opinion.

I read that ‘Common People’ was written mostly in your early 20s – quite a long time before it was actually released. How has the time since affected your approach to music making? 

James: This new record that I'm working on feels like my first album, because I've actually got total control of everything now. I've been with record labels, but now, 99% of it, I've written alone, and I've produced and mixed the whole thing.

With ‘Common People’, I started some stuff when I was 19, 20, and didn't really finish the album until I was 24. It was just a mix of songs I'd written over the years, whereas I've done this in about 6 - 7 months. It definitely feels like ‘James the adult’ is making an album. I’ve been through loads more personal stuff, I have a lot more to say now… rather than ‘oh I'm heartbroken’!

So what can you share about this new album – is it finished?

James: Well it’s recorded. I'm still in the mixing process. It takes forever because it's the first time I'm mixing my own stuff. But I do believe it's going to be out in the middle of next year, maybe sooner. The album does a lot of different things. I've got some bluesy stuff, which is really fun because I love all that music. I'm excited for people to hear me do a bit more genre-bending. But there's still some great singer-songwriter tracks on there as well.

What would you say are the themes in this album?

James: It's a lot to do with money, funnily enough! I mean, ‘Golden Age’ is me worrying about not making it and that I'm getting a bit older, struggling to keep the dream up when I should be living my best life, because these are supposed to be the best years, your mid 20s. But I'm just constantly stressed about money, so there’s a lot of that.

I’d say it’s slightly spiritual as well. I mean, there's ‘Jesus Is A Woman’, which didn't go down too well! However, I do want people to know that I definitely am a very spiritual person, and a lot of the record talks about having angels in my life and feeling like there's a higher power.

I think that's a really interesting point to raise, especially following the criticism of Taylor Swift’s new album for lacking sympathy towards people struggling day-to-day with the cost of living. Did you think about that when you were writing, or is it purely a reflection of what you're going through?

James: I don't think I ever write from a place of what other people are going through, maybe I should! But I suppose I am the common person – like the old record – and I am affected by what's going on. And it's hard to be a young person living in London, and a musician as well. If I had the same success that I've had 20 years ago, I might actually be a millionaire, but there's just no money in music right now.

“It’s hard graft. I know it’s music, but it really is quite hard. I think what Raye’s doing at the moment for artists is amazing. We need more artists like that.”

I work way harder than so many people I know. I've got a little studio in North London, I probably get there at 9 and don't leave till 10 o'clock at night every single day, and then I might play a gig after. It's hard graft. I know it's music, but it really is quite hard. I think what Raye's doing at the moment for artists is amazing. We need more artists like that. If more people can speak up about it and not do a Taylor Swift where she's totally tone deaf then we might actually get somewhere.

You have some pretty upbeat songs, who do you listen to when you need a bit of a kick?

James: I love Wings, Paul McCartney's second band. I think ‘Band On The Run’ is my favourite album ever, so that really gets me in the good feels. 

How would you describe your sound now to people that maybe have been aware of you for a while, but haven't necessarily followed that journey?

James: First and foremost I'd say I'm a songwriter who's deeply inspired by huge music. I love big, world songs, and a lot of soul music. I just want to make massive hits, basically, that come from an organic place.

Do you have any shows for the rest of the year that people can catch you at?

James: Nothing booked in, but I'm doing a lot of random gigs. If people want to follow me, then just keep your eye out, because I'll announce something a couple of days before. At the moment, I'm just playing without any planning because it's forcing me to be uncomfortable on stage and try new music, and it feels like it's really working.’

James Smith, ‘Golden Age’. Image credit: James Smith

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‘Golden Age’ is out now on all streaming platforms, with a music video dropping next week.