A Quick Chat with Otis James

Otis James has released his new single “Vapour Skies”, an emotionally charged blend of electronic production, live instrumentation and driving rhythms. Using smoke rings as a metaphor for anxious attachment, the track captures the beauty and fragility of wanting to hold onto something that cannot last. We caught up with Otis to discuss the painstaking process behind the single, his evolving approach to songwriting and his plans to create bigger, bolder live experiences.

Tell us about “Vapour Skies”. How did this song come to life, and what inspired it?

Some songs come together very quickly, with the core elements set in the first session. This was not one of those songs. It was a painstakingly long process involving many iterations, something I would equate to carving a beautiful sculpture out of a large block of marble. I knew there was something there I just needed to grind it out to find it.

The first session gave me the sounds, the vibe and the drums but I wasn’t loving the core ideas. After months of working on the track, I was mixing what I thought was the final version, but I still wasn’t feeling the bridge. I decided to alter one part of that section, which led me to start changing one thing after another. It felt like I was pulling at this thread slowly unravelling the whole song. I was worried, wondering am I having a breakdown or a breakthrough?

But in that confusion, something beautiful happened. Before, I had been grinding just to finish the song but then I became obsessed, drawn to my computer at every free moment I had. That’s when I knew I was on the right path.

I had two lines from the original demo: “Perfect little smoke ring” and “it feels good to have you closer”. After sitting with those lyrics, I decided to write an ode to anxious attachment but conveying it as if it was something beautiful. That intense expression of love is represented through a smoke ring: something precious but something that disappears the moment you try to grab it.

I love the line “it feels good to have you closer for every little moment.” On the surface, it seems like a heartfelt expression of love, but wanting someone around for every single moment isn’t healthy. The duality perfectly represents what the song means to me.

For someone discovering Otis James for the first time, how would you describe the sonic world you're creating?

Hmm, my sonic world is a combination of electronic and real world sounds. I’ve played multiple instruments my whole life, and I love electronic music, so bringing those two worlds together to create something fresh has always inspired me.

I love combining lush soundscapes, emotional chords and melodies with bouncy, driving rhythms. I like to describe my music as dance music you would listen to in your headphones on a late night bus ride when you feel like the main character

There's a real sense of duality in your music, it's deeply emotional and melancholic, yet still feels uplifting and hopeful. Where does that emotional balance come from?

I can’t help but to make emotional music. Like it always seems to come out melancholic no matter how hard I try, so instead of fighting it anymore now I just lean into it.

I’ve also played drums for a very long time. I even studied them at uni so rhythm naturally gives me a way to counter those introspective sounds with driving, uplifting energy.

I think that duality is probably just a reflection of who I am tbh. I always feel like I have quite contrasting sides in my personality. Like I feel things very deeply but I am also a quite light hearted, humorous person. I always want my music to feel authentic, so I guess that’s just me coming through my music.

When you're not writing or recording music, what helps you reset creatively or find inspiration again?

One of my favourite pastimes is training Muay Thai and Boxing. I love having a passion that I’m not trying to turn into a career (unlike music) and I find beating the shit out of a boxing bag to be the best form of therapy.

The thing that gives me the most inspiration is generally romance and being around people. When I get too lost in the world of creating, the thing that gets me out of my head is going out into the world, falling in love, spending time with amazing inspiring people and occasionally getting my heart broken. It always gives me something real to channel into my music.

What do you hope people take away from “Vapour Skies” after their first listen?

I always hope people create their own meaning to it and connect with it in their own unique way.

I think the song strongly represents me and my approach to creating music in many ways. It has a lot of different sections, a wide sound palette, a slightly unorthodox structure and it has me both rapping and singing on it, in other words it’s a perfect hot mess.

I think this is a great barometer for me and my music like if you fuck with Vapour Skies then you fuck with Otis James

Has your approach to songwriting changed over the past few years, and if so, what's evolved the most?

Originally, I was solely a producer but I became tired of relying on vocalists as it was proving to be very difficult. So I decided to start putting my own vocals on tracks, and that expanded into mixing and mastering my own music as well.

Don’t get me wrong, collaborating is one of my favourite parts of creating but I love having the ability to do everything myself to create fully finished songs.

My approach has constantly evolved as my understanding of songwriting and production has expanded and become more refined. The biggest recent evolution has been learning to define the emotional concept of a song much earlier and then using it to guide every lyrical decision.

With a song like this, I usually begin with a couple of phrases that resonate with me, then sit with them until a strong lyrical concept emerges. In this case, it was an “Ode to anxious attachment” portrayed with the imagery of “smoke rings”. At the moment, I feel like I need those two things to create a cohesive emotional world to give the song’s meaning a clear direction.

Looking ahead, where do you see the Otis James project heading next? Is there a particular sound or direction you're excited to explore?

I just want to keep growing and getting better at my craft. I often close my eyes and imagine myself performing in front of an absurdly enormous crowd, and I can’t wait to bring that into reality.

I’ve been loving bringing my music into the live performance space. At my shows, I combine the elements of DJing and electronic production with live looping and live instrumentation (with my saxophone), I incorporate collaborators into the performance as much as I can, and there’s even crowd participation, I love it when the crowd gets up on stage, with me as chaotic as it can become but I’m a man of the people and the audience is a part of the show.

I’ve also done a few pop up guerrilla performances, and I plan on creating bigger, ballsier and more immersive experiences, with the goal of making something unlike anything people have experienced before.