James Smith was December's featured artist for the CLASH Live showcase at Metropolis Studios, created in association with our partners ellesse.

Smith was first inspired by the inventors and innovators in music by his father who owned a market stall. Encouraged by punters to cover classics, Smith was exposed to the likes of Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan, two artists who would become instrumental in his musical development alongside Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway. “I must have been about 12,” Smith reflects. “I found myself on caravan sites doing karaoke and competitions. I’ve been doing it for a while.” Smith transitioned from a cover artist to an original songwriter when he was 16, wanting to emulate the journeys of his musical heroes whilst reflecting his own contemporary experiences: “Songwriting has been my little escape. I can write about my emotions and no one will take the piss out of me for it. As soon as I started writing, it felt like a drug.”

Smith released multiple pandemic-era projects, 2020’s ‘An EP…’ and 2021’s ‘District Line’, establishing a sound that pivots between anthemic crowd pleasers, sun-dappled mid-tempos and more folky lamentations. His songs are anchored by allusions to his working class roots, no more evident than on recent single ‘Common People’, which was written after a turbulent period navigating the big label monopoly. Smith turned personal adversity into a universal song appealing to the masses. “I’d just left a big record label. I felt like I’d put so much work into my craft. I signed the deal young, and it felt like they were taking advantage of the fact that I was a commoner - that I’d sign my life away. That song was born out of the anger of that situation,” he says.

Performing is where Smith’s talent as a multi-instrumentalist shines through. Smith relished the opportunity to exchange feedback and energy with the audience at Metropolis Studios through an intimate one-man set-up. “I love the sense of family in the room,” he says about the live music experience. “I’ll see the same faces at every show. It’s nice seeing people all over Europe become family in one room, they all know each other. In terms of being on stage, it’s great to get people smiling and in their emotions.”

James Smith will release his debut album this summer with a series of singles building the anticipation before then. “It’s a time capsule,” says Smith about the full-length. “These songs were written two years ago, so when the album comes out, I can let go of that period of my life. It’s a release for me.”