The wunderkind J… Read Full Bio ↴James Holden is far from your average DJ-producer.
The wunderkind James Holden has finally come of age, and has delivered up the debut album to prove it: and at 28, about time too! For although the world seems strangely intent on fixing him in his early twenties (or more specifically, a series of internet sites who have seemingly overlooked the fact that biography ages require a yearly update!), the time has come to acknowledge that DJ and producer James Holden is not quite so young anymore. The timely release of Holden's 'The Idiots Are Winning' mini-album in 2006 marked the occasion, and formed a fitting musical illustration of Holden's new-found maturity.
Still reluctant to bestow upon it the accolade of 'debut album', for Holden himself 'The Idiots Are Winning' remains an EP which grew out of control: take four dancefloor-length Holden tracks, mix in the obligatory DJ tools and alternative versions that he is so keen on, and an interlude or two for good measure, and you have far exceeded the single realm and are pushing into album territory. Not that the manner of its creation should affect the listening experience: Holden's intricate and inimitable production style ensures a coherence of atmosphere, where even DJ-friendly extended intros hold up to home-listening scrutiny. The Guardian went so far as to proclaim it "the most astonishing debut in electronic music since Boards of Canada's Music Has the Right to Children." And who are we to argue?
The producer James Holden's journey to this point began back in 1999, aged just 19, when he burst onto the UK scene with the exuberant teenage trance hit 'Horizons'. Produced on a basic home computer set-up and the freeware music program Buzz whilst still studying towards a Maths degree at the University of Oxford, the young punk's overnight success was a slap in the face for the audiophile establishment, and went some way towards opening doors for the legions of young bedroom producers who have now become the mainstay of the dance world. The floodgates had opened, and an intensive course of remixing, djing, production and collaborations extended before Holden in place of the conventional Oxford graduate career path.
But if the axis of English (and those related countries which take their lead from the Anglo-American progressive house and trance scenes) took to Holden overnight, the rest of the world took a little longer to convince. It was not until the launch of his own Border Community label in 2003, kicked off in fine style with his own future anthem 'A Break in the Clouds', when key players in the hugely influential German scene began to sit up and take notice. Having found himself wedged rather uncomfortably between the prog and trance scenes in his native UK, this entrance into the German market represented a new-found freedom for Holden, and the non-generic approach to making melodic electronic music which he found amongst many of his peers in Cologne and Berlin finally had him feeling right at home. A string of hugely-influential and often-imitated monster remixes of everyone from Madonna and Britney Spears, through Depeche Mode and New Order, to Nathan Fake and Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid cemented his place as a mainstay of DJ record boxes everywhere, and Holden's global dancefloor domination was complete.
Originally founded to offer a restriction-free outlet for Holden's own music, as well as serving as a launch pad for the production careers of his talented friends, the rather fanatical cult of Border Community which has sprung up around Holden's own label has of course been essential in achieving this independence from the narrow limitations of genre-specific music. The accolades due to Holden's Border Community baby include bucking the trend of declining vinyl sales in a major way, unleashing a whole host of idiosyncratic dancefloor classics on the world, kickstarting the careers of many a young musician, and making serious inroads on the realm of the artist album with offerings from Nathan Fake, Fairmont and Holden himself. Now in its fifth year, Border Community is firmly established as one of the foremost breeding grounds for fresh young electronic talent, thanks to their small but faithful army of free-spirited genre benders who between them have injected a new life into the European scene.
The best place to catch a glimpse of the soon-to-be-massive delights yet to come from his Border Community label is of course a James Holden DJ set, where his tireless dedication to hunting down the next wave of young production talent meets his own sense of exemplary taste in selecting tracks from other labels to bring his unique vision of what club music ought to be to life. Barely coming up for air between his non-stop sampler and CDJ wizardry, Holden is a very modern sort of DJ, brazenly uniting tracks from music's past and present, disregarding genre, confounding the purists and making club hits out of many an unwitting dancefloor virgin. His supreme and unrivalled command of the modern technology available to him allows Holden to go where other DJs fear to tread, consistently pulling off daring mixes on-the-fly which just wouldn't be possible on a conventional two turntable set-up. And so distinct is the resultant sound that your average conservative dance music night can barely contain it, which is why James Holden is often best experienced alongside his edgy labelmates at one of his many Border Community label nights, at The End in London, and beyond.
Between a hectic touring schedule which has taken in just about every corner of the world, running his Zeitgeist-defining label, and his status as hugely in-demand remixer du jour, it is little wonder that Holden's own original productions have occasionally seemed a little thin on the ground. But something has got to give if Renaissance man Holden is ever going to finish his next album, which is why his plans for 2008 feature a scaled down set of DJ dates and a strictly-enforced remix embargo. With that all-important studio time freed up, the time has come to begin plotting the next chapter in the James Holden story.
10101
James Holden Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My lies are me
My price is a compromise
My pay is peace
And words just make it worse
They′re misunderstood, see just like there
If you can't spell it out, if it′s just understood
I make my mind up
Convince my brain
I lie on accident
Trying to explain
But all the things that I was told
All the people that told me
How can I not believe in things that
Everyone else sees?
In James Holden's song "10101," the lyrics talk about the enigmatic and internal struggle many of us face by grappling with the idea of personal identity. The first verse highlights the concept of self-commodification, where our thoughts and words seem to have a monetary value. The singer talks about their own struggle with lying and the cost of compromise, indicating that our sense of self is directly related to the society and culture we live in, and it's impossible to escape it. The second verse points out that the use of language is flawed and that it can lead to misunderstandings. The singer admits their propensity for lying inadvertently when trying to explain themselves, leading to confusion and miscommunication. The last few lines address the societal construct of belief and how it shapes our perspective of the world. The singer questions how they can avoid believing things that everyone else sees, hinting at the inevitability of social conditioning and the powerlessness of individualism.
Line by Line Meaning
My thoughts are commodities
I view my thoughts as resources to be used to my advantage
My lies are me
I am defined by the lies I tell
My price is a compromise
I will do whatever it takes to achieve my desired outcome, even if it means sacrificing my own values
My pay is peace
I am able to find peace in the aftermath of my actions
And words just make it worse
Communication only complicates matters
They're misunderstood, see just like there
Words are often misinterpreted in the same way that visual elements can be misperceived
If you can't spell it out, if it's just understood
Without clarity, assumptions are made and confusion ensues
Then you think it isn't there
When something isn't explicitly stated, it is assumed to not exist
I make my mind up
I choose my own beliefs and convictions
Convince my brain
I rationalize my decisions and thoughts to myself
I lie on accident
I unintentionally say things that are not entirely truthful
Trying to explain
I am attempting to justify my actions or beliefs
But all the things that I was told
I have been influenced by the opinions and beliefs of others
All the people that told me
The individuals in my life have contributed to my worldview and values
How can I not believe in things that everyone else sees?
It is difficult to reject beliefs that are accepted by the majority, even if they don't align with my own convictions
Writer(s): Doug Martsch
Contributed by Isaac F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@RoitRecordings
One of the greatest electronic music tracks of the universe.
@almohadillaseisefes
you people masturbate to that or what? is a great track, nothing more (and nothing less) but c'mon bitch, universe is huge
@manonmars82
ou yea, this one is for sure truly in my heart forever….
@youjustreadthis897
@#6F's
My answer to your first question is 'Yes'.
@Pazaluz
@numèric This is not just a "great track". This is a work of art from 2006 far beyond it's time. All of the greatest techno or whatever bangers that come out nowadays don't even come close to what Holden produced back then and now. There's so much attention to detail, sound design, progression, variation, feeling, originality etc... I mean, just listen to the synth coming in at 3:17 and how it evolves ! Never have i heard anything like it. I have been producing for a while now and i still have no fucking clue how he managed to produce a track like this. And this was made 13 goddamn years ago ! Maybe you don't love it as much as i do, but please, don't underestimate the amount of brilliance and work that was put in to this track. I have spend allot of time listening to electronic music. And there's nothing like Holden's music. He really is a pioneer in electronic music. Holden Nr1
@phishcatt
@Eric Cock in hand since 2011.
@navindrenchetty8307
I really, really like that tingly sensation I get whenever the hi-hats near the start of the track kick in. Also, the album cover somehow really adds a lot to the listening experience. Personally, I like to imagine myself soaring through fluffy white clouds while gazing upon the earth below. I know that may sound a little strange, but it's actually a more interesting way to visualise the track in your head.
@properjob79
I swear half my vinyl were brought because of the sleeve design..you knew if thought went into the sleeve then there's a monster waiting inside
1/4 of my vinyl collection is shockingly bad
@user-ob9zo9cr4c
love this minimalism in music from area 2005 - 2012 . great times in music.
@ScheheraZd
one of the greatest moments when this track sounds in your ears!