Graeme James

The best worst decision Graeme James ever made was to buy a loop pedal on hire purchase. The worst, because buying on finance meant he couldn’t really afford it, the best because it inspired him to really pursue music as a career, which has called to him since he was a child.

His first album News From Nowhere has recently been released, realising a life-long dream for the Wellington based singer-songwriter-busker. His songs have been played half a million times on Spotify, and his busking saw him meet his wife Zoe.

“I had gone to Wellington for my brother’s stag do, and thought at the last minute that I’d throw my instruments in, just in case,” says Graeme. “I did some busking while I was there, and ended up thirsty. I waited for someone I knew in Wellington to come past to watch my gear so I could go and get a drink – I knew about five people there at the time. Eventually my mate came past, and I said to the people standing watching that they were welcome to have a jam while I was away.

“When I came back, Zoe was playing the guitar, so I quickly got an instrument back. Our first meeting was having a jam.”

Zoe is now his manager, and she has collaborated on a track on News From Nowhere. 

Graeme describes his style as ‘string infused folk.’ His family is musical, and loves the influences of celtic music. He learned classical violin, but also plays the fiddle, mandolin, guitar, ukelele and bass. Music has always been his love, but he did begin training as a primary school teacher and as an electrical engineer, before deciding to busk full time in June 2012.

Alive, Graeme’s debut original song and the lead single from the album, was released in late 2015 and met with immediate interest, including 130,000 plays on Spotify. In addition to the success of the single, four songs from the record including Alive and the upcoming second single One+One have been featured in the top rating Australian television drama series 800 Words.

To play music on the streets of Wellington in the winter takes some dedication! “Music is the only thing that has stuck for me, even though it has terrified me too,” he says.

Gathering material for the album was no problem. Writing music is an emotional process, but he tries not to be ‘weepy.’ “Musicians tend to write when things are tough,” he says. “When you’re happy, you hang out with friends, but there was plenty of moods to choose from.”