Nashville-based singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, James Levy, shares new single and video, "Myself Anymore," today via Side Hustle Records / The Orchard. His new album, Solider, is due out on March 12, 2021. Associated acts of Levy's include Reputante (Cult), James Levy &The Blood Red Rose (Heavenly), LEVY (OLI), Lolawolf (Innit), Charles Bradley, The Pierces, and this new record follows Levy's debut solo record, Somebody (Innit), which came out in 2019 and was produced by Paul Defiglia (The Avett Brothers).
The video for "Myself Anymore," was directed by Levy’s former LOLAWOLF bandmate Jimmy Giannopoulous, was shot in downtown Los Angeles. The video's wry sense of humor is classic James Levy, and the font plays a character, and it feels like he's competing with his own name flashing across the screen, as he roams LA. His sheer self-awareness breaks the marketing fourth wall in a way that makes it hard not to smile and feel in on the joke of what's it's like to take oneself too seriously in the music business, or in anything in life.
Levy recorded the new record at home in Nashville, where he wrote, produced and mixed it himself, in the span of two weeks. It is his first guitar record in over a decade. The surge of inspiration came from watching the show “Normal people.”
The forthcoming LP's first single and title track and "Solider" is also streaming everywhere, along with a video that debuted on American Songwriter. Much like the video for "Myself Anymore," text plays a character role in the video and is wrought with wit. He tells American Songwriter: “I was watching the show ‘Normal People’ and out of the blue the song came to mind... I wrote it very quickly and recorded it. It ended up being the catalyst to make a full record," adding, “I sang whatever came to mind knowing that I wouldn’t edit it...It felt like no matter what I said the feeling would come through.”
Levy worked with Julian Casablancas, Coldplay and Tim Wheeler of Ash on his last two records. He wrote songs with Zoe Kravitz, Jordan Lane Price, Zuri Marley, The Pierces and currently, he is working in Nashville writing with multiple artists. Levy recently recorded a duets EP with Herman Dune in LA and an EP produced by Richard Gottehrer in NYC. Levy’s collaborations with Charles Bradley on “Lucifer” and “Lonely as You Are” are out now and have received critical acclaim.
