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Fireside Chat
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NYC / Los Angeles United States
NYC’s experimental composer James Ferraro breaks down the backstory behind his many projects, albums and inspirations.
It’s difficult to laser-pinpoint what _(artist-name)James Ferraro_ is about exactly. Although it’s this ambiguity which is precisely one of the reasons his output is so fascinating. With over 40 releases in the bag under a handful of aliases, the musician who splits his time between New York and Los Angeles seems to revolve his conceptual works around the dark underbelly of masculine male culture in a digital age. Aerosol huffing, virtual sushi restaurants, oil money, big box retailers, and 'Call Of Duty' all make appearances in his works while his sound vacillates between pristine, soul-less digital sheen and lo-fi tape experiments. He first rose to cult prominence in the mid-2000s based on his project with Spencer Clark, _(artist-name)The Skaters_, and went on to record a string of solo releases such as the teenage delinquent themed _(album-title)Night Dolls With Hair Spray_ and the Scientology-based _(album-title)Clear_. His 2011 album _(album-title)Far Side Virtual_ on Hippos In Tanks was one of his most divisive - comprised of 16 ring-tone anthems rooted in a world of Richard Branson, Pixar, and Starbucks lobbies - while his latest project _(artist-name)Bodyguard_ takes his peculiar aesthetic to the world of auto-tuned radio rap.