Q&A: meet Jamie, producer who’s creativity pushes boundaries

Melbourne singer-songwriter and producer James Day, who goes by Jamie Lane, has gone ahead and delivered us a new booty popping track that’s drenched in electronic synths. Now u Know pushes boundaries as it explores a fusion of genres as it goes against the grain of your basic pop song. We thank you for giving us something different. It’s refreshing, it’s left-field and we love it.

Jamie is trying push pass the everyday sound and create something that tests boundaries. Jamie’s vision is “to elevate sound to a seamlessly ethereal, naturalistic expressivity”. Yas take us somewhere new and exciting Jamie. 

The newcomer exudes humbleness and honesty. Asked about his first performance at Falls Music Festival he said “I look back on that experience very fondly and am so glad I didn’t mess it up haha,”. He far from messed it up, he had the crowd absolutely loving his set. A career highlight. 

We had a chat with Jamie about his new release, dumping over text and what it’s like to perform at a festival.

Heres a quick look into our chat:

Who is Jamie Lane, how’d you get into making music?

I’ve been writing songs since I was around 11 years old. I didn’t produce my first track till 16 and it was the result of some DIY recordings from a high school band I was in - I had this thought of ‘hey… can I like, improve the quality of this shit?’ 9 years later I’m still grappling with that thought haha.

Electronic music inevitably pulled me into the world of production but oddly enough I started out with the more traditional mixing and engineering. I liked the idea of having the chops to be able to produce your own recordings, to not have to go through the trouble of finding producers, getting studio time and being reliant on others to get your stuff out there. Before I even realised I wanted to pursue it as a career, all I was doing was making electronic music, experimenting and designing sounds, developing my ears and knowledge for mixing and engineering. I was completely obsessed basically.

Tell us a little bit about your new song Now U Know?

It’s essentially about staying true to your goals despite feelings of hopelessness; to not give in to nihilism and self destructive tendencies. I wanted to carry forth this message of perseverance into a kinetic and explosive listening experience, something that will give the listener the necessary adrenaline to believe and commit to overcoming any self-doubt. Sonically, I wanted the track to be rich with progressive sound design and rhythmic interplay, which is something that will carry through as a primary theme on my upcoming album.

What was it like to perform at Falls Festival to a large audience and be amongst that festival vibe?

I look back on that experience very fondly and am so glad I didn’t mess it up haha. I was very new to that kind of thing so I was extremely nervous, and being that it was the last day so it was harder to relax and enjoy myself the closer I got to performing, but once I started and I saw people loving the set, the feeling was glorious and I felt very proud of how far I had come. 100% one of the best moments I’ve had in my career (so far).

Your song Sink has over 500k streams on Spotify, how do you prepare yourself for that kind of love? 

I’m not so good at preparing for such things, I mean you only really dream about stuff like that so for it to happen it’s like… beyond words really. Releasing music is often mentally taxing, I can’t speak for other artists but I’m sure many feel the same. Putting yourself out there and not knowing how it will be received or if it’ll get no attention, or if it’ll get massive attention, it’s very tumultuous and existentially confronting, especially if you’ve been hoarding your music and waiting for the right time to drop it. 

Sink didn’t happen straight away so it was definitely a rollercoaster of ups and downs, but when it started going crazy around 3 weeks into the release, I was overcome with a feeling of profound relief and disbelief. It felt like a real accomplishment and I was quite proud of myself in the end.

What excites you the most for the rest of this year?

Lockdown ending!! And as far as music goes, Sam Gellaitry’s new album rumoured to drop this year - really looking forward to that one.

Cats or dogs?

Cats, they have such grace and finesse, I love them. Also they do uncanny, hilarious things.

McDonald’s is the best fast food restaurant Y or N?

If I have to pick haha, no way would it be Maccas. KFC all the way boss.

Is dumping over text an acceptable thing to do?

A big no from me. I think it’s a pretty weak and cowardly thing to do, certainly against my values. If you had feelings for someone and spent quality time with them, they deserve more respect than that for real, even if it makes you feel uncomfortable at the time.

Can we expect any more fire tracks from you this year?

You absolutely can! There’ll be at least 2 more singles from me this year, leading up to my debut album either late this year or early next year.

If you ever end up dating Jamie, take solace in the fact that he won’t dump you over text, he is more of a face-to-face kind of guy. All jokes aside, Jamie is fast becoming a consistent artist who delivers track after track and we can’t wait for festivals to launch us into summer so we can go see him live.

Check out his new track below or head to our new Snap, Crackle and Pop 🎤 playlist to hear more fab songs like this one.

By Samuel Seedsman.