James McAlister - Portrait (official video)

From the upcoming album Scissortail, out 26 Mar 2021 with 37d03d.

Music Written and Performed by James McAlister
Starring Kelsey Guy
Director/DP Tyler Rumph
Creative Director/Producer Caroline McAlister
Choreography Kelsey Guy

Special thanks to Nor Black Nor White, Etcetera LA, Jubilee McAlister, Zoticus McAlister, Jill Rumph

“The music from Scissortail is for the most part slow moving and liquid in nature. For me it is a meditation, an opportunity to let the world inside and outside slow down. Getting outside and just moving, fast or slow, has proved to be a very important part of my life, especially in recent times. When I saw the beautiful movement work of Kelsey Guy, I was struck with how well it flowed with the music. We asked her if she might be interested in putting something together for a video, and she was excited and inspired to do so. I really love how it turned out. We wanted it to feel like a dream, where some things are familiar and mundane, but others are completely otherworldly. The video was shot right here in my neighborhood, Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, California. For me it is a really special snapshot of the environment where the songs on Scissortail were recorded."
- James McAlister

LA-based producer, composer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist James McAlister is a rare creator, and highly sought after collaborator. Perhaps best known for his work with Sufjan Stevens, and being a touring member of The National, McAlister is a regular contributor to Aaron Dessner’s projects, including the latest albums from Taylor Swift, folklore and evermore. His regular work with film music includes Bryce Dessner’s The Two Popes, Michael Andrew’s Instant Family and Ron Simonsen’s Love, Simon. In 2018 he joined Stevens, Casey Foubert, St. Vincent and Moses Sumney for the Oscar performance for music from Call Me By Your Name, where he played piano and a bottle of cupcake sprinkles. With nearly countless projects to his name, it was in 2017 that his collaboration with Stevens, Nico Muhly, and Bryce Dessner entitled Planetarium was released by 4AD. Around the same time McAlister started a deep dive into a personal sonic realm that has manifested as an ambient project under his own name. 2018 saw the release of Three Breaths, the first offering from this exploration. 2021 will see the second installment, an album called Scissortail which vividly puts McAlister’s evolving master craft on display. It is a collection of moving, meditative, immediately satisfying and quietly stunning work. It is the sound of an artist letting go entirely of pre-conceptions or expectations, instead mining the depths of that very real and abstract place of sound, texture, color and feeling. Some songs arrive almost intuitively, while others feel mechanically made, fed through the framework of synthesizers and the patchwork of recording gear. And with that comes a compelling duality to the work; a machine grace informing the on-going but subconscious dialogue between energy and material, sensitivity and asceticism.

Artist socials

Label socials

[rwrunning]

This is the music everyone needs... and no one thought to make
It's okay to take a break from the noise
Life happens slowly sometimes
There's no way around it

[CaribePalaceHotelHotelCaribe]

It's just me, but this song makes me think about everything that has happened in my life, good moments I've experienced and difficult moments, but this touch of this song transforms the longing for the past and the sadness of my pain into a simple and simple lightness so relieving in something that makes me want to just listen to her all the time

[kevinblakeryan]

Sublime - the music and the accompanying imagery ❤️💛💚

[alyandaj]

This is extraordinary. So proud to know you.

[mattgilmour]

This is incredibly inspiring, and challenges me to be more creative.