Mitch James

Mitch James
Birth name Mitch James
Born (1995-06-26) 26 June 1995
Origin Auckland, New Zealand
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • singer-songwriter
  • guitarist
Instruments
Years active 2015–present
Labels Sony Music
Associated acts Maala (musician)
Website mitchjamesmusic.com

Mitch James (born 26 June 1995) is a singer and songwriter from New Zealand. He is best known for his songs "No Fixed Abode", "Move On" and "21" which have featured in the Official New Zealand Music Charts. His first album debuted at #2 on the New Zealand chart, and #1 on the NZ Artist Album Chart.

Life and career

Early life

James was raised in Auckland, New Zealand, where he attended Saint Kentigern College. James taught himself how to play the guitar at the age of 14 by studying YouTube tutorial videos. James has stated that school "wasn't fun" for him and that music became something of a refuge.[1] At age 16 James found inspiration in the likes of Ben Howard and Ed Sheeran.[2] At age 17 James finished school and travelled to London on a one-way airfare in pursuit of a break into the music industry.[1][3] From London, James spent two years travelling around Europe. During this time he reportedly busked over 100 times, played 230 gigs, slept 41 nights on the street, was robbed twice, beaten once and witnessed a stabbing.[4][5][6][7]

2015–16: Breakthrough and early releases

In 2015, while in Europe, James began recording and editing cover videos on his phone and sharing them on Facebook and Youtube.[3][8][9] In 2016, New Zealand musician Maala spotted one of the videos and shared it with A&R staff at Sony Music New Zealand. James returned to New Zealand and signed with the label shortly after.[10][4]

On 1 December 2016 James released his first single "No Fixed Abode" along with its accompanying music video. On 9 December 2016 James released his second single "Move On".[11] Later that month James made his debut festival appearance as a featured performer at Rhythm and Vines in Gisborne, New Zealand.[12] Shortly after James' set, Chance the Rapper, who was headlining the festival, followed James on Twitter. [13]

2017–present:

In January 2017, James performed at Bay Dreams festival in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand.[14] In March 2017, James completed The Humble Roadie Tour, a ten date national tour of New Zealand. James and his crew travelled the entire length of the tour in a custom Kombi van.[15][2]

In mid 2017 James released four singles through Sony Music: "Won't Bother Me" on 29 June 2017, "Saving Time" on 6 July 2017, "Lucid" on 13 July 2017 and "All The Ways To Say Goodbye" on 27 July 2017.

James has been announced to perform at Snowtunes Festival in Jindabyne, New South Wales, Australia in September 2017[16][17]

James indicated he intended to release his debut album in October/November 2017.[3]

Discography

Singles

Year Title Peak chart
positions
NZ Heatseeker

[18][19][20][21][22][23]

2016 "No Fixed Abode" 1
2017 "Move On" 4
"Won't Bother Me" 2
"Saving Time" 1
"Lucid" 3
"All the Ways to Say Goodbye" —
2018 "21" 3
"—" denotes releases that that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Tours

  • Humble Roadie Tour[15] (2017)

References

  1. 1 2 "Mitch James: Making it happen with 20 pounds and a guitar". Stuff. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Five minutes with Mitch James – Remix Magazine". Remix Magazine. 28 March 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 "Mitch James on how to get signed to a major label by busking around Europe". The Spinoff. 14 March 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  4. 1 2 "From sleeping rough to a record deal: How Kiwi singer Mitch James made it in music". Stuff. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  5. ↑ "First official music video from new Kiwi singer-songwriter Mitch James". Stuff. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  6. ↑ muzic.net.nz. "Introducing.... Mitch James". www.muzic.net.nz. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  7. ↑ "Mitch James blames himself for getting mugged once while busking in Europe". More FM. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  8. ↑ "Broke Kiwi musician given gig in front of hundreds after stranger overhears his SOS call". 1 NEWS NOW. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  9. ↑ "Mitch James". YouTube. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  10. ↑ staff, Newstalk ZB. "Kiwi singer Mitch James: From cleaning cars to a record deal". www.newstalkzb.co.nz. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  11. ↑ "Introducing.... Mitch James | Scoop News". www.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  12. ↑ "Mitch James". Rhythm and Vines. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  13. ↑ "Mitch James (@mdjamesmusic) | Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  14. ↑ "New Year's festival Bay Dreams announces first 2017 line up". Stuff. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  15. 1 2 "Mitch James' 'Humble Roadie Tour' kicks off tomorrow night". Libel. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  16. ↑ "Snowtunes Festival Adds Even More Acts To Its 2017 Lineup – Music Feeds". Music Feeds. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  17. ↑ "Snowtunes lineup brings more big international names to the Aussie ski fields". tonedeaf.com.au. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  18. ↑ "The Official New Zealand Music Chart". THE OFFICIAL NZ MUSIC CHART. 12 December 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  19. ↑ "The Official New Zealand Music Chart". THE OFFICIAL NZ MUSIC CHART. 6 January 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  20. ↑ "The Official New Zealand Music Chart". THE OFFICIAL NZ MUSIC CHART. 10 July 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  21. ↑ "The Official New Zealand Music Chart". THE OFFICIAL NZ MUSIC CHART. 17 July 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  22. ↑ "The Official New Zealand Music Chart". THE OFFICIAL NZ MUSIC CHART. 24 July 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  23. ↑ "NZ Heatseeker Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 28 May 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
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