James Ferraro and Olde English Spelling Bee

If you grew up in the 80's, played NES games as a kid, liked to skateboard, watched Ninja Turtles, or dreamed of being a surfer in California, then chances are you would probably enjoy the music of James Ferraro. That might sound pretentious, but any fan of his music would understand that sentiment completely. To put it more plainly, if you like experimental or electronic chillwave, ambient or drone artists like Aphex Twin, Neon Indian, Washed Out, Flying Lotus, or even bands like Velvet Underground or Red Crayola, then you will most likely dig James Ferraro. James Ferraro is an underground experimental solo artist from Los Angeles and a member of the bands Lamborghini Crystal and The Skaters. The simplest way to describe him is that he's a "Pop Artist". Yes, like Andy Warhol.

His music ranges from gentle to noisy and is completely atmospheric, conceptual, surreal, and at times lo-fi. He releases "themed" albums, meaning that each one is constructed entirely for the purpose of conveying a certain modern self-contained aesthetic concept. These concepts aren't easily definable and differ on each of the albums he creates, but generally the mood remains the same . For example Last American Hero has been described by music critics as “Ambient Desert Blues” while a sticker on the outer sleeve of Clear claims it is “Tropical Drones Concept Music”. He is 100% in his own world musically, and to listen to one of his records start-to-finish is like taking a journey into his mind as well as the minds of many other American kids who grew up in the 80's. This is not dubstep, chiptunes or trip hop. In fact, his music is pretty much impossible to categorize. It's unique. It is "James Ferraro" music.

He creates his music using guitars, drum machines, filters, Casio keyboards and samplers, but he does not sample other artists' music or sounds. Every sound he samples, he creates himself from scratch, which gives his music an instantly recognizable tonality. He has meticulously crafted his own personal brand of artistic music that cannot exist outside of himself. Most people completely won't understand it, and some (like myself) will instantly connect with it and want more and more. For first timers, I recommend listening to the albums On Air, Night Dolls with Hairspray, or his latest release Far Side Virtual. They're probably the most approachable and pop oriented songs he's done, as long as you keep in mind that this person is solely a surrealist ambient lo-fi drone composer. If that's more your thing, check out Rerex, Pixarni or my personal favorite Clear. And if you want something completely bizarre and noisy, Alien Microwave by Lamborghini Crystal is one of his strangest concoctions.

Ferraro distributes his music through the infamous underground label Olde English Spelling Bee. Currently one of the kings of the American underground music scene, OESB's artists share a very similar experimental musical styling of lo-fi, drone, ambient, and noise music. Whether it be Ducktails (Aka Matt Mondanile of Real Estate), Autre Ne Veut, Sky Juice or Forest Swords, the artists generally produce cool-headed mellow and occasionally noisy lo-fi music which often sounds as though it were recorded in the late 70's or early 80's. Fans of artists like Fever Ray, Beach House, or Toro y Moi would likely enjoy the music of OESB's artists, and although many won’t dig it at first, I think they're the kind of musicians who grow on you. James Ferraro and Olde English Spelling Bee definitely create some very heady stuff.