Singers are the unsung (no pun intended) heroes of the EDM scene.  All the way back to Disco era / pre-house vocalists Taana Gardner (West End Records) Martha Wash (The Weather Girls and later C+C Music Factory, Black Box) and Loleatta Holloway ("Love Sensation") into the 90's with crossover stars Crystal Waters, Ce Ce Peniston and Robyn up to the 2000's with Nadia Ali.  As Dance maintained a strong hold on the European markets in the last decade, it became a safe haven for North American R&B stars like Deborah Cox (Swedish House Mafia "Leave The World Behind") and Destiny's Child Kelly Rowland (David Guetta's "When Love Takes Over") who were able to relaunch their careers thanks to a 4-on-the-floor and some synths.  In a producer driven genre, these artists that often bring the personality and hook that make the song a hit, are typically uncredited on the single, leaving them fairly unknown to the huge consumer base that has already fallen in love with their talent.

For Southern California based singer songwriter Chris James, pitfall averted.  2012 brought his name to prominance thanks to Deadmau5 and his melodically strong Progressive House hit "The Veldt" (Mau5trap Records/Ultra) which proudly features his name listed along with the producer's.  Trust me when I say this is a rare occurrence.  The title, The Veldt, was taken from a Ray Bradbury short story released in 1950 about a futuristic family living in an automated home.  The son and daughter become obsessed with their hologram room in which they have created a beautiful African landscape complete with roaming animals, that in the end, devour the parents who attempt to force the children to shut down the room.  Despite the erie and somewhat horrific tone of the story, Chris took inspiration from Deadmau5's melody and the theme to create something much more poetic.  "Joel [Deadmau5] never told me why he chose to pick this book, but it screams technology, so I could see why he chose it" Chris says.  "That boy loves technology as much as I do.  I was just thinking about how much I love technology and how it brings people together.  I was thinking about being the kids and waking up in their shoes, how happy I would be if my life was perfect in this magical house of machines and family, so I wrote about the feelings I was experiencing."  The result was a successful career launcher, eclipsing singles from the same album (Grammy award nominated >Album Title Goes Here<) that featured heavy weights including My Chemical Romance's Gerard Way.

Living outside of Los Angeles, Chris began writing at the age of 13, also learning guitar and piano.  After being introduced to Pro Tools at the age of 16, he was hooked on the concept of doing music his whole life.  "Writing is easy for me.  Producing, performing and singing are the only things I'm good at."  In regard to the creative process he adds, "Piano is my favorite instrument, so I usually start [writing a song] there.  I look at Ableton Live and Pro Tools as my instruments too.  They play a big roll in writing.  With lyrics, if I can't write a verse and hook that makes me feel good in 20 minutes, I trash it and start a new idea the next day.  If I end up nailing the chords and the main hook, I can get the song done in that day."  Fast turn around might be the key to his success in a field focused on releasing the next big single as quickly as possible, rather than the traditional standard, taking 2 years to produce a full album before releasing any of it's tunes to the public.  Sharing the bill on "The Veldt" has brought attention to him fast, securing him representation and requests for vocals.  This February marked the release of "Together We Are", a single that is sure to be a festival mainstay throughout the summer.  The track, produced by Arty, is significantly different from "Veldt" in that, although both being melodic, it is more in your face and aimed at being a big room anthem.  A much more Pop sensible approach is needed in these instances, a challenge that Chris didn't see as much of a challenge at all.  "Arty has a great sense of melody that I really like, so I wrote those [vocal] melodies and lyrics in 20 minutes because the music just sounds like something I would write anyways."  Piano chords chime under soft vocals climaxing in a symphony of strings, saw synths and bass guaranteed to have EDC hopping like mad this year as the PLUR philosophy resounds through the words "Together we are".

His name should be cemented and secure by the end of 2013 thanks to an upcoming tour and various one off performances.  Groundswell from several high profile singles and shows should open up the ability to release more solo material.  "I plan on doing an entire recored after I get home from my first big tour.  As for now, I will release a few solo singles for the summer."  Being a musician first, will it be all EDM or contain more organic Indie / Alternative Rock elements?  "What I can tell you is that my album will have a lot of live band elements and session players."

Keep up with new music from Chris James on his soundcloud page

 https://soundcloud.com/chrisjamesofficial

and his Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ChrisJamesOfficial