After Oliver James recorded his debut album in 2012, Chasing the Sun (Wire & Wood Recordings LTD), proceeds from the sale of his soldier-themed single “Keep Breathing” were donated to veteran support organizations. Formerly from San Francisco and then NYC (where he met keyboardist, Brett Levine), he relocated to San Diego before releasing a sophomore full-length, What Have We Learned, in 2016.
James says he changed his focus from business to music later in his life, being over 50 when he recorded his third album, released in 2019 via Wire & Wood. The album was previewed by a video for "Swimming Horses," a track recorded at Pacific Beat Recording with Grammy award winning engineer Alan Sanderson. Levine continued to contribute to the band from NYC, using file sharing.
James has worked with David Letterman’s Late Night Gospel Choir, two-time Grammy-winning mixing engineer Trina Shoemaker (Iggy Pop, Queens of the Stone Age) at the Magic Shop in NYC, and mastering pro Greg Calbi (Bob Dylan, Nick Cave) at Sterling Sound.