James Harris (aka Hemingway) is a soft spoken, but clearly thoughtful and contemplative producer. Though he's been through some very real challenges in his life, he continues to see the potential in the universe. James' career is one that has been bolstered by the support of not only his family, but his local and online music and art community as well. I think James is a wonderful example of how discipline and playing well with others can do a lot to produce and sustain amazing work.

In this interview we talk about his beginnings in music, and the online community that helped support him releasing his music publicly and how coming out of his shell and performing with others in groups like Tush really transformed how he produces music now. 

We discuss James' experience with his arteriovenus malformation or AVM and how in the wake of that event, how his community once again helped him overcoming some of the challenges associated with that time, and what he's done since that time, including co-running his label Cosmic Resonance.

We talk a bit about meditation, neuroplasticity, and finally, being that Cosmic Resonance is primarily a vinyl based label, what it is about vinyl that can teach us about the past, the present and the future.

JAMES HARRIS' BIO

James Harris, aka Hemingway, has been producing and performing music live and as a DJ in Toronto over the past decade. He co-operates the label Cosmic Resonance Records with musical collaborator Chris Evans; a vinyl imprint featuring music from himself, Raf Reza and Korea Town Acid. Hemingway has a variety of releases and remixes under his belt on labels such as Stratford Court, Homebreakin’ Records, Brilliantine Records, Sweat It Out!, Apostasie Records and House Of Disco. His music draws influence from a record collection heavy on futurist styles of jazz-funk, disco, deep house, jungle, psych, dub, broken beat, new wave and mystical exotica. As a DJ, Hemingway’s sets are eclectic and escapist, notable for deep grooves and cosmic melodies. He has shared the decks with many reputable acts over the years, including Tornado Wallace, Jex Opolis, Oliver, RAC, Classixx, The Magician, Tim Green, Edit Murphy, Pelifics & Jeremy Glenn. James also hosts Astral Projections, a monthly party at Kensington Market’s Handlebar, bringing together a diverse community of bands and DJs from Toronto’s blossoming underground electronic music scene.

His latest release, Memoirs, is available on vinyl and digital formats and is being distributed to record stores worldwide through Honest Jon’s Distribution:
http://cosmicresonance.space/album/memoirs

http://soundcloud.com/hemingway

James recently collaborated in the studio with Jessica Cho as an engineer/percussionist for Korea Town Acid's latest EP 'Mahogani Forest' due out on vinyl and digital formats on June 15th, 2018

http://cosmicresonance.space/http://cosmicresonance.space/album/mahogani-forest

https://soundcloud.com/cosmicresonance/cr-003-mahogani-forest-ep-korea-town-acid-preview

He is currently at work on a new EP. More details to come later this summer! You can hear a sneak peak here: https://www.facebook.com/hmgwy/videos/10155843870814652/

MUSIC IN THIS EPISODE

Click links to support/listen/buy!

Korea Town Acid - Bubble Tease (Cosmic Resonance)
Tafari Anthony - Fuck (Hemingway Remix)
Keenhouse - Aries (Hemingways Starlight Yacht Remix)
Hemingway - Blue Notes
Hemingway - Memoirs
Hemingway - Ocean Hues
Raf Reza - Pineapple Island
Korea Town Acid - Mahogany Forest
 

If you’re in Toronto, look out for James's event Astral Projections, often held at Handlebar with James and a slew of other very talented people. 

With every new artistic endeavour, we can discover not only a new destination but also the path that led us there. But how to stay on the path, and what path should we take? As someone who has often struggled with these questions, I became increasingly interested in meditation as a means to helping with focus and intention. I found that as with most journeys, it helps to have a guide. 

So on this week's episode of Mind to Make, I speak with artist, musician, film-maker and now meditation & mindfulness instructor/counsellor Josh Reichmann about how our minds play such an important role in the process of art making. We discuss Josh's introduction into mindfulness, meditation, Buddhism and the various forms and meanings attached to those terms, as well as how they manifest themselves in us and others. We discuss addiction, suffering and finding meaning and compassion both for ourselves and others. We talk about how having a moral or ethical framework can and should be as important as what we are trying to say with our work. We speak about how mindfulness can be a first step to beginning a journey along the middle path of creation and discovery.

It should be noted that the concepts Josh and I discuss in the program are complex to say the least. Though we stray from our own conversational path on several occasions, I would attribute this to my own learning as an interviewer as well as to the depth and complexity of the subject matter. I hope to further explore this topic with Josh in a future episode to derive more clarity on the topic, and would invite listeners to put forth any questions they might have as a result of hearing this conversation. 

Josh very modestly had this to say of himself and his career thus far...

I wrote and recorded with Tangiers and released three records with that rock band and toured around and made music videos. I continued on to release five more solo records. Most were about telepathy and magic. My recent feature film was just completed and screened for Cannes and Lacarno film festivals considerations by Telefilm. It is featuring members of the Tibetan community and focuses on the bardos and self immolation and living in exile.

I graduated as a Contemplative Psychotherapist and counsel and teach mindfulness and meditation through the Tibetan Galugpa tradition of which I am a student. I teach meditation at a Tibetan temple.

I'm writing more film...and a new record.

You can get more information about Josh's counselling practice at www.joshreichmann.com

The song used in this episode, After Live is written and performed by Josh Reichmann, released on Hand Drawn Dracula