Music Talk : Music Industry Interviews, Advice and tips for DJs & Producers · Grahame Farmer

Music Talk 075 - Unleash Your House Music Potential with Devon James

·1 hr 29 min·5 clips

The pandemic pushed Devon from planning an EP to building a full album around “Brighter Day,” “Move Again,” and “Risky Business.”

Graham gets going quickly. He introduces Devon James and frames the conversation around Love, a debut album shaped by a lifetime around music, with nine tracks that move through self-discovery, disco hooks, indie grooves, and house rhythm. The mood is warm. Graham says he has been trading emails with Devon for ages, only had voice notes until now, and wants to finally talk properly while the album plays. The record arrives with a lot of feeling. Devon explains that songs from different moments in his life began to connect, and that a track like Brighter Day helped him realise he had a bigger body of work rather than just an EP. Family comes into it too. He talks about finishing that song, hearing his dad play piano on it, and feeling it was one of the most special records he had made. The album keeps opening up. He walks through how Move Again, Risky Business, Do You, and Cross the Line came together, and how Cross the Line started as a collaboration with Antler Rock. Graham keeps pausing for the strong bits. He listens back, reacts hard to the sound, and picks up the deep power and the bright, dancefloor-friendly pull in the production. The influences are easy to hear. Graham points toward that Hot Creations and Jamie Jones space while Devon and the host lean into the record's feel. The vocals get their own spotlight. Devon explains that one singer is Zach Brit, whose solo project is 100,000s and whose other work sits in a more electronic-folk, Fleet Foxes-adjacent, danceable lane. Another name comes up as well. He links Zach to Supertaste, the indie-disco project with Slugfather, and Graham immediately wants the music sent over. The conversation stays loose. It moves through chat energy, track reactions, and practical talk about collaborators and sounds before ending with thanks, support, and a promise of more music to come.

As heard by us

A warm, track-by-track look at a debut house record with real scene mileage.

Devon James's debut album Love gets a fair hearing here, and the record's pull comes from the way it sits between dancefloor instinct and personal history.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

For when you want a debut album broken down by the people behind it.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Music Talk : Music Industry Interviews, Advice and tips for DJs & Producers