Profile:
James Orvis is the electronic artist who owns Balter Records, based in Hull, UK. Inspired by the likes of Kiasmos and Stephan Bodzin, James produces hypnotic and melodic dance music, and was also the guitarist in a two-piece band that toured with GusGus. His desire to combine musicality and stage-craft with a love of club music set him on a path to build a concept based around playing his own material live. With recognition from emerging talent programmes such as BBC Introducing, Bands in Town and Big Break, James is beginning to share his sound with the world.
About the playlist:
"All the artists in this playlist are live acts, producers and friends that have released on my label Balter Records. I thought this would be a great opportunity to share our collective sound with your readers!"
Listen to the playlist here
Best Event:
The Balter Records Birthday Party last month with Rex The Dog live was a brilliant one! Although sadly maybe the last event I will put on or play for a while, given the current Covid-19 situation. It had a really nice vibe; all our friends came down, we had the Balter crew playing live sets with machines, and Lost Colours put on a spectacular laser show!
Favourite Artist of the Last Decade:
Too difficult to answer this one! It changes all the time, and usually the change happens at a festival when an artist slaps me in the face with something unexpected.
Your Favourite Cuisine:
Without a doubt, I would have to say Indian, but it would have to be vegan! My housemates and I batch-cook a curry almost every week and I am still not tired of it. Also, chapattis with lime pickle is quickly becoming my favourite snack. I think Moroccan cuisine needs an honourable mention too — I need that fresh mezze salad to balance out my curry addiction!
Best Synthesiser:
I'm really loving the Novation Peak at the moment! I think it sounds brilliant, always cuts through the mix with little processing and it's ergonomically well laid out for live tweaking, which is super important for me. I think this may change later this year when I finally dive into the world of modular. Everyone I know who makes music with modular absolutely blows my mind. Lee Malcolm (Jinjé) is one of those guys — I have gear envy every time I visit his studio!
Your Spirit Animal:
A bear apparently, according to this Facebook quiz that I just took. I was hoping for a monkey, a dolphin or one of those birds of paradise that dances funny and builds mental high structures from twigs and bits of rubbish. I admire their craftsmanship, determination and skill. I can't dance for sh*t though!
One Song on Repeat for the Rest of your Life: What Would it be?
As a producer, listening to something over and over again can eventually become absolute torture... so one song on repeat sounds like a nightmare! The clever move would be to dig out a nice hour-long meditative Tibetan bowls session or something from Brian Eno. If it's a favourite song you're asking for, maybe something by Radiohead, like Everything In Its Right Place, Reckoner or Nude. Kiasmos' Looped maybe? Also, another good one would be Nick Cave's Jubilee Street — I actually did have that on repeat for weeks when I first heard it. The final answer though is the Tibetan bowls.
