YDF25 Artist 03 Q&A: James Dobbs

What’s your background?

I have an MA in music composition from BIMM University. The throughline throughout all of my musical ventures is the guitar; however, this has transitioned into more of a vessel for a much broader range of outputs. For a long time, I played in a shoegaze band called “Longlines”. We released three EPs called 01482, 𝘗𝘰𝘱, and 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦. My work has gradually morphed into something more audio-visual until the two became inextricable. My work now tends to be much more thematically/conceptually focused with generative/aleatoric elements sprinkled/poured on. Soundwalks are one such example.

Who are your biggest influences? Artistically? Who inspired you to become an artist?

The Fall, Radiohead, Mark Richards (Longlines), Tom Smith (BIMM lecturer), Martin O’Donnell, Wes Borland, Brian Eno, Taproot, The Matrix, Yayoi Kusama (You, Me, and the Balloons), my parents, and myself.

How have you developed your career? (From student to artist)

The biggest stepping stone for me was working on the music for ECHO Salford. This involved crafting a historically informed, interactive, AR, alternative rock symphony which people can dis/reassemble. This was like playing musical sudoku. Becoming an Echoes creator (soundwalks) was another path along the road of development for me. Echoes were kind enough to publish some of my work which was a massive boost! Furthermore, I am constantly publishing my own work online and sharing it with the world.

What is an artistic outlook on life?

Seeing the beauty in the mundane, being critical of established conventions and frameworks, seeking to push things past their intention, willing to experiment with and combine disparate elements, etc. Equally however, I believe that everyone is their own artist, whether knowingly or unknowingly. For example, my mum would not consider herself an artist; however, her garden is absolutely her artistic passion project.

What is your dream project?

My dream project would be to find a way to capture and visualise people’s dreams so that they can be watched back like a film or experienced as a dream once again. I am in the beginning phases of a piece of music (perhaps a soundwalk) in which there are text-to-speech samples taken from things I write down immediately after waking up. I plan on using exclusively whole tone intervals as this is typically used to signify dreams.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?

Less is more.

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