ABOUT JAMES

James is a Film Composer. Mark Kermode described his score to twice BAFTA nominated County Lines as “Majestic!”, playing cues along with Mark Forrest on Scala Radio. The soundtrack was released on Lakeshore Records. 

A childhood of watching films that were way too old for him had a profoundly positive effect in solidifying James’s love of the artform very early in his life. This was probably all done while sat recording, taking apart tapes and playing guitar. 

Shortly after moving to London in his early twenties, and influenced by bands like The Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, UNKLE, Radiohead, DJ Shadow and Spiritualized, touring with the latter, his band were signed to BMG Publishing and Manchester Indie label Faith & Hope. In that period, James could often be seen playing the gig and festival circuit, trying to get weird sounds out of guitars, tape machines and pedals. 

With the band going their separate ways and with his love of Film, Classical and contemporary music stronger than ever, James threw himself into scoring as many shorts as possible for a wide range of directors; the aim being to position himself firmly and comfortably in the various sound worlds that he had grown up with. 
These early films such as James Doherty’s Breathe and Jonathan Birch’s Resonant Frequency appeared at the London Short Film Festival, BFI Flare and BFI London Film Festival. 
The LFF ICA was where he met Director Henry Blake and Producer Victoria Bavister, who stole his seat when he was at the bar. He's worked on Henry's films ever since. These include Gus & Son starring David Hayman and County Lines, starring BAFTA Rising Star nominee Conrad Khan, BAFTA nominee Ashley Madekwe and BIFA nominee Harris Dickinson. 

While shoehorning himself into the world of film, James sent a few scores of his secret ‘contemporary’ pieces to the Guildhall School of Music and was taken on as a private pupil by one of the Composition Professors there. This spurred him on, and he soon became an Associate of the LSO’s Soundhub scheme for new and emerging composers and was shortlisted for the LSO Panufnik prize with one of his earliest works, Colour Pulses, for Piano Quintet, Electronics and Percussion. The premier was performed at St. Bartholomew's Church in East London.

Soundhub gave him the opportunity to go to the LSO’s rehearsals at the Barbican which he did weekly, taking the morning off his day job, returning overdue scores to its music library on the way. There he saw conductors like Simon Rattle, conducting Ligeti, Stravinsky and Turnage; Valery Gergiev; new work Scheherazade.2 by John Adams for his 70th birthday concerts and In Seven Days by Thomas Adès among many others.  
Importantly, he got to hear the chat between great conductors, great composers and great musicians and occasionally peek at the conductor's score. He was also able to attend master classes with LSO players which offered him a wealth of knowledge. 

During this time James also got to interview and pick the brains of sixteen time Grammy Award winning Classical music Producer, James Mallinson and attend a masterclass with Ann Miller, well-known music copyist and engraver for film and concert music composers. 

James Pickering is also a Songwriter and Producer under the name The Fake Arts and label Fraud Recordings. He's been fortunate enough to have received multiple plays on BBC Introducing and regularly releases music. 
He often makes music with his talented friends Mike, Jess and Matthew. Anything they create together goes under the Brik Hit House moniker. These tracks are mixed in stereo and surround to HD quality, with Film in mind. BHH should be messing about with atmos soon. 

James can be seen around East Kent, sampling the environment and creating his own instruments based on those found sounds.   

James Pickering is a person obsessed with Film, music, sound and learning.