At A Glance
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Venerable producer/mixer, Michael James, who crafted seminal records by New Radicals, Hole, Edwin McCain, Jawbreaker, L7, Robben Ford, AJ Croce, Kalimba, Chicago, Too Much Joy and others, steps back into the spotlight as a solo artist.
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New concept album, Shelter In Place, is inspired by the 2020 pandemic lockdown. Love, isolation, loss, mortality and hope infuse this revolving tapestry of stories that unfolds like an Altman film to remind us that we are parts of the same shared anatomy.
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Virtuosic performances venture through multiple genres while featuring James’ inventive guitar work and nimble storytelling. Seven guest vocalists make the album feel like an epic playlist. Album launches with a seven-part music video miniseries.
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For Your Grammy Consideration: Alternative Music Album, Immersive Audio Album, Engineered Album, Music Video, American Roots Performance/Song, Packaging, Album Notes, Arrangement, and Improvised Jazz Solo.
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About Shelter In Place
• Shelter In Place is a concept album by gold, platinum and #1 Producer/Mixer/Guitarist, Michael James (New Radicals, Hole, Edwin McCain, Robben Ford, Kalimba). It explores love, isolation, loss, mortality and ultimately hope—themes that permeated the pandemic lockdown of 2020. A listen from top to bottom begins with an enjoyable night under the stars with an orchestra that is suddenly disrupted by a global catastrophe. Lovers overcome obstacles to be reunited, while other couples are far too close for comfort, far too long. Some serendipitously thrive in the new world, while others contemplate their mortality. Everybody eventually learns they are not alone, that we are all in this thing (life) together.
• Stylistically diverse, but primarily sophisticated Rock, with a modicum of Americana, Singer-Songwriter, Jazz-Rock Fusion and cinematic orchestral textures to support the focus on intelligent storytelling. While lyrics are front and center, James plays inventive guitar solos and layered parts on every tune. Will appeal to fans high caliber musicianship, advanced harmonic concepts and organic instruments, reminiscent of Kevin Gilbert’s Thud or Sheryl Crow’s Tuesday Night Music Club.
• Sonically breathtaking, the album is mixed in 2.0 stereo, 5.1 surround and immersive Dolby Atmos to position itself on the front line of the spatial audio revolution recently embraced by Apple Music.
• Recorded remotely during 2020, in collaboration with special guests David Kahne (Paul McCartney), Linda Taylor (“Whose Line Is It Anyway?”), Chris Hesse (Hoobastank), Jason Cropper (Weezer) and Kenny Brack (Indianapolis 500 winner).
• Five singles (with music videos) to be released between now and October 2021. All videos will be produced and directed by award winning filmmakers Allen Farst (Chuck Leavell: The Tree Man) and Tim Roth. At least two additional videos releases are planned for 2022.
Celebrity Testimonial Quotes:
"Great working with Michael on the album. His skills as a musician and engineer / mixer are at the top of the game. I was really impressed with another one of his skills - his attention to emotional detail in the composition, production and performance. That’s the foundation of this body of work, reaching out in so many ways. Thanks, Michael!"
David Kahne, Producer (Paul McCartney, Kelly Clarkson, Tony Bennett, Lana Del Rey)
“Such a great collective of perfectly crafted songs! Vintage modern sounds married to pristine production by Michael James add up to an album loaded with superb radio potential.”
John Payne, Producer/Frontman (Asia, GPS, Dukes of The Orient, Raiding The Rock Vault)
“2020 was a shared, global experience. How often can you say that? It’s one thing to turn on the news and think, oh those poor people, it’s quite another to realize those ‘poor people’ are in fact…you. Michael has created, or maybe recreated, this once in a lifetime empathy with Shelter In Place. It’s a wonderfully honest and earnest album, free of strategy, free of sales pitch. When no words suffice, he doesn’t use any. When he has more to say, he makes the song longer. It’s a simple narrative and the most complex ideas are best expressed simply. You know how you feel when you listen to CSN&Y, or a guitar solo, or an earthy gravelly vocal? It’s a rhetorical question—I know how you feel, because that’s how I feel. We feel the same. How often can you say that? Thanks Michael, for reminding us.”
Linda Taylor, Guitarist/Producer (“Whose Line Is It Anyway?”, Art Garfunkel, Terri Lyne Carrington, Christopher Cross, Tracy Chapman, Sara Niemietz)
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Produced by Michael James, Urban Olsson, David Kahne, Aaron Durr, Brian Joseph Kenny & Eric Colvin
Mixed by Michael James
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©2021 Alternator Records catalog # 42069-2. UPC-A 641444206926.