Loraine James

A British producer, songwriter, and electronic artist, Loraine James makes dance music that's both experimental and eclectic. She was born in the Enfield district of London, England on 18 December 1995 and began taking piano lessons during childhood. Inspired by her city's multicultural makeup, she listened to a wide variety of music, from metal to electronica. Those diverse tastes would soon inform her own sound, which she introduced with her debut EP, Settle Down, in August 2015. A second EP, New Year's Substitution, arrived later that year. Following the release of a mixtape and a third EP in 2016, Loraine James made her full-length debut with 2017's Detail. The album earned her a record contract with Hyperdub, a notable electronica label run by fellow producer Kode9. With Hyperdub's backing, she rose to prominence with 2019's critically-acclaimed For You and I, whose songs merged pop, jazz, R&B, grime, and drill influences into her own brand of IDM. Nothing followed in 2020, featuring collaborations with an international roster of guest artists, rappers, and dance artists. Reflection, her second full-length release with Hyperdub, was released one year later, filled not only with innovative dance music, but with lyrics that celebrated Loraine James' status as a proudly queer Black woman, as well. She took on the artist name of Whatever the Weather and released an eponymous album in April 2022 while a collaborative EP with Italian DJ and producer TSVI emerged that same year titled 053. Trailblazing queer Black composer Julius Eastman formed the focus of her third album, Building Something Beautiful for Me, which was released in 2022 on the label Phantom Limb. 2023 saw the release of Loraine James's third album for Hyperdub, Gentle Confrontation, with appearances from keiyaA, Marina Herlop, George Riley, Contour, Eden Samara, RiTchie of Injury Reserve, and Morgan Simpson of black midi.