Internationally Acclaimed Folk Artist Graeme James Contemplates Life’s Cycles On New Album ‘Seasons,’ Shares “Everlasting Love”
February 18, 2022 BY Danielle Romeo
Internationally acclaimed folk artist and multi-instrumentalist Graeme James will release his new album, Seasons, on April 1st, and today he shares his new single “Everlasting Love.” The song is a celebration of committed love delivered on cantering tempo with swells of mandolin and organ, mariachi horn embellishments, and piano counterpoints — a spirited arrangement that’s all about motion.
James says, “Most love songs are written about the desire to be in a relationship with someone, or about the feelings you have in the first six months of a relationship when you are barely sane and hardly know the person. I wanted to write about the less heady, but much deeper love and appreciation you have for someone when you actually know them and have walked a long journey with them through all of life’s trials and tribulations.”
Watch + Share The Video For “Everlasting Love” Here:
With Seasons, James contemplates the cycles of life and the human condition, as measured by nature’s own time clock. These are not idle musings about mundane situations. Though he might use tiny brushstrokes to define minute details, James paints panoramas, not postcards. Starting with spring, it cycles through to winter via 12 songs of intimacy and delicate beauty. He even “revives the lost art of the shipwreck song” with “The Voyage Of The James Caird,” which Rolling Stone featured as a “Song You Need To Know,” adding, “[James’] records tend to be calm and ruminative, recalling the work of fellow modern balladeers like Nathaniel Rateliff (during his unplugged moments) and Phoebe Bridgers.”
James plays a dizzying array of instruments on Seasons, just as he did on his Nettwerk debut, 2019’s The Long Way Home, and his earlier independent efforts. He’s been a one-man-band since he started his career as a busker in his native New Zealand, and still uses his trusty loop pedal to create his own mini-orchestra when he performs live.
He also produces his recordings, which allows him to sandwich together as many layers of violin, fiddle, guitar, mandolin, bass, double bass, banjo, baritone ukulele, viola, cello, harmonica, accordion, and percussion as he wants. For Seasons, he did request piano, horn, percussion, and vocal contributions from friends.
James even creates his own cover art, drawn in a distinctive pen-and-ink style partly inspired by vintage children’s books and linocut printing.
