Photo Credit: John Ellison.
Russell James is an autistic Indie-folk singer-songwriter with a dreamy edge, introspective lyrics, and a soulful delivery. Songs about struggle and triumph, delivered by a weathered vibrato and accompanied by an atmospheric soundtrack.
Russell's fourth full-length release, Feel Your Pain, sees him reconciling two of his root Influences: simple and traditional folk songs and dreamy, lush shoe-gaze textures. The songs alternate between having simple arrangements to complex layers of ethereal ambience.
Lyrical themes touch are largely autobiographical as Russell continues to explore darker corners of existence, his trauma and his autism. The album is due for release December 3rd.
Far from a mopey exploration, Feel Your Pain almost feels like a celebration of the negative emotions that we all experience. The sonic palette Is diverse and gentle, often loping along like a mountain stream. Feel Your Pain may be a dark exploration, but it carries a bright torch to light the way.
Russell formed the legendary Albuquerque, New Mexico, Americana band, The Porter Draw in 2008, and recorded 5 albums with them before leaving in 2016 to pursue a solo career. He has released four traditional albums ("Rise" 2016, "Seasons" 2016, "Wave/Water" 2018, and "Pay Attention" 2019) and one ambient album ("Alarms" 2019). He has been a national park artist in residence and has been touring the country for five-years, breaking during the current pandemic. This break allowed him to complete "Feel Your Pain" to be released on 12/03/21.
Russell is autistic and disabled. Playing music is obviously a lifelong passion (or in autism-speak “special interest”) and he has often said it’s a compulsion to write and play. Playing music has offered Russ many opportunities he would not have had otherwise: He has toured the country extensively and gone on many adventures in National Parks and cities between shows. He loves living out of his bright-red Ford E-Series Van (he traded in his trusty Honda Element Camper, The Gray Haven early in 2019). Sleeping in nature, and arriving to shows smelling like a campfire or fresh off a river from fly-fishing are the norm for Russell. He couldn’t do this any other way, and he still needs a great deal of support while playing live shows. He is authentic on stage, pouring himself into his songs and the performance while being refreshingly open with his autism.
Website: www.russelljamesmusic.net
Facebook: www.facebook.com/autismsongs
Twitter: twitter.com/autism_songs
Instagram: www.instagram.com/autism.songs