Music takes you to a memory, it’s like a time machine. My earliest memories of music are going on road trips with my mum and dad in France and Italy, and they’d make mix tapes. My sister, who is nine years older than me, got me addicted to NSYNC, the Backstreet Boys and Justin Timberlake, but in the car we’d listen to Stevie Wonder; Frank Sinatra; Buena Vista Social Club; Earth, Wind & Fire and some classical music as well. Some of my most beautiful memories are from those trips, it’s when I first started to fall in love with music. I’d hear Bruce Hornsby’s The Way It Is and just wish I could play piano like that someday – that piano is just so iconic.
I’ve been touring the world since I was 16; it’s become such a big part of my life. Being exposed to different cultures gives you a real perspective and it humbles you in terms of what’s important. It makes you really appreciate family, but it also helps promote eternal growth. There’s only so many stories you can conjure in your imagination from staying at home. There has to be a point where you go and experience the world and try new things – that’s when you have the minerals to create meaningful art.
I’m probably at my most creative when I’m either really relaxed or when I’m super chaotic. But I love to find places off the beaten track where I can quieten my mind. My wife’s family has a cabin in the mountains in Big Bear Lake, California. I worked on most of my debut album up there. You can sprinkle the seeds out and the birds come to visit you. It’s the perfect place to be away from distractions and see nature at its finest.
On the chaos side, I love to listen to local jazz musicians wherever I go. Where I am from in Birmingham there is a cool spot in Digbeth called The Spotted Dog – it’s a cool little jazz spot where you can hear the local talent. I usually sit at the back with a beer and check out the jazz, and sometimes I’ll get up and jam too.
I now live in London, and luckily there are some great hidden spots where you can hear some of the world’s best jazz musicians. I headline at Ronnie Scott’s every year and it is great to go to – you get to see all the Americans coming over and playing. When I first moved to London, I’d go to Ronnie Scott’s every night from 11pm to 3am! Another place I spend a lot of my time is The Queen’s Head in King’s Cross. There’s a piano in there and I’ll sit there and play, just for the love of playing, and everyone sings! It’s such a vibe. I’m in my happy place when there is a piano or anywhere that plays jazz – it just ups the level. If there isn’t good music playing, I don’t want to be there.
I toured with Sam Smith for eight years and they’d always find these niche spots like Catch in New York’s Meatpacking District. In Paris, we tried snails for the first time. My wife’s heritage is Mexican, so we always look for good taco places wherever we are – Alberto’s in LA is cool, so low-key but delicious. Food is always a great way to figure out a new city. The culture, the music, the food.
Having had the pleasure of touring the world, there is music I associate with different places and lots of different styles. When I play bossa nova on the guitar, it takes me back to being in Brazil, in São Paulo and Ipanema.
For me music is like travel, it’s an escape, not only for yourself and your deepest feelings but for your soul. I use it as a tool to heal people and take people away from their everyday life. It’s a way to experience a range of emotions, make them smile, dance, laugh. It’s like an addiction – something that makes me feel good and it’s something that I use for every emotion.
Reuben James’s Champagne Kisses is available to stream on Spotify now; reubenjames.comÂ
Lucy Frith is a London-based journalist who writes for Brummell magazine
