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Some people would have you believe that - for punters like us at least - music has never been healthier. Fuck stuttering major labels and dwindling record sales. If we want music, it's only a click away. The only problem we face in the era of the download apparently is in knowing where to start. With the arrival of social networking, forums, blogs and file-sharing has also come the ability for any old chancer to get their stuff heard.

Isn't it nice to have so much choice? Not according to Daniel James, the man
behind Canon Blue, who has described the birth of the MySpace musical generation as
the onset of "musical apocalypse".

"It's physically impossible to stay up to speed with everything, and anyone that
tries to just looks ridiculous. There's no time to live with a record, to let it unfold and
gestate in your mind, before you're told to move on to the next thing," complains
Nashville-based James. "I can't even read music magazines anymore 'cause it's too
overwhelming and makes it seem almost comical to try to put out a record right
now."

That said, James has marched determinedly through the minefields of the modern
industry to produce a debut that perfectly encapsulates the independent spirit of
today's musicians. Colonies was recorded largely alone and was distributed to fans for
free before he signed to Danish indie Rumraket. The record is slow, sombre and
crackling with electronic energy; as blissed-out as Spiritualized and as turbulent as Talk
Talk. Mixed by Grizzly Bear's Chris Taylor and mastered by Christian Vogel, Colonies
manages to avoid the perilous folktronica pigeon-holing by the sheer weight of ideas
crammed within.

It is also an intensely personal album that helped its maker come to terms with
some troubling times, such as the loss of a close friend who drowned in Alaska. "I
originally only intended on giving it to a few friends as more of a cathartic outlet, but
then it kind of took on a life of its own," he explains. "I wouldn't say it was painful, as
that sounds a bit self-indulgent, but it does sort of chronicle some difficult moments
in my life."

Another event that compelled James to begin Colonies was the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina, which he saw develop on television.The well-travelled musician had
been living in New Orleans before returning to Virginia - just weeks before the city
was devastated in August, 2005.

"The US priorities are totally backwards," says James, still angered by the US government's perceived tardiness in responding to the humanitarian crisis that followed. "Maybe it's the Chomsky-ite in me, but the Machiavellian side of everything is really disturbing. I have no doubt it's always been there, but now they're not even trying to hide it.

"I haven't been back to New Orleans since the hurricane, but I've talked to a few friends
who have. Everything they've said and everything I've seen on the news and read
about seems to indicate that hardly anything is being done. It's really frightening. You
can't help but think that if something like this happened in California or New England
it would have been fixed the next day."

With such themes running throughout, Colonies could have turned out to be a
heavy listen. But the marriage of acoustic and electronic instrumentation on the
record ensures that the tracks are often as comforting as the subject matter is harrowing.

"The fact is, I'll be making music regardless of if or how it gets put out, because
it's spiritual to me and a release that I can't get anywhere else," promises James.
If the four horsemen of the apocalypse are reading - there's no need to saddle up
just yet, boys. ends

words: Neil Condron

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