‘I Didn’t Think About This Til Now’, is the “first independent project” from singer/songwriter Gabe James, who is Amplify’s ‘Artist Of The Month’ for April.

Amplify spoke to Gabe all about the highs and lows of becoming an independent artist, his musical inspirations, and the writing process as a singer/songwriter.

Gabe James “moved to LA 5 years ago” and put out his first EP ‘A Boy From Colorado’, in 2021. Since then, he has continued his music journey, and leads to today, where he has released his 3^rd ep,”I Didn’t Think About This Til Now”, that he explains is his “first independent project” which is “exciting” for him and his journey. This writing process started a while ago with the first single, ‘Curse’, in 2023. He describes being in a “low place” prior to this EP which begins a brighter creative journey for a lot of artists and soon realised he wanted to “put out as much music as possible” and that started with “writing a song a day,” which he explains was a “goal” for him at the start of this process. One that I find many artists talk about, that allows their creativity to keep flowing.

Speaking in terms of what reaches him first, he often finds that in this current moment, “both the lyrics and melodies” come to him at the same time. He will “jot down a phrase and then sing a small melody alongside it.”  One that I find many artists talk about, that allows their creativity to keep flowing. For Gabe, he had that realisation as an artist that “nothing makes him feel as good” as writing new songs, and it is something he carries with him to the now, especially enjoying the feeling of finishing that song per day, whether it felt like a chore in the moment or not, which is the sense of accomplishment anyone creatively looks for, and it is authentic to the music, which is completely evident in his work.

During this process, Gabe also had a stronger interest in reading, and “felt inspired” by creative authors, leading a more positive look on his work. Another artist also told him that “he can produce his own music,” which led to him taking more ownership of the production side, having all but two songs on this EP fully produced by Gabe, which is a huge step for any artist. In this project, he also collaborated with a lot of close friends, his girlfriend helping shoot the music videos, and close friends producing some of his work – really tapping into the authenticity of it. When talking on how Gabe James approaches taking his songs to other collaborators/artists, he mentioned a great example of working with Jo Hill. He already had a written song prepared, and the opportunity came to work with her. He then of course, took it and she presented great ideas. That situation was a “it’s meant to be” moment that often works out best for the artists and the track.

As earlier mentioned, in the song ‘Fault Line’, he writes, “I heard you’re dreaming of a city of angels out there”, which mentions the previous EP title, ‘City Of Angels’. When speaking to me about the similarities and differences between this record and the new one, Gabe James mentions how the tracks were written a long time ago, ‘Flicker’ for example, being written 6 years ago. The similarity of him “embodying the same self” and focus on ideas is still there but he is much more “hands on with the process now” and can find music to be subjective, so it helps that he is involving himself fully into all aspects of making a record.

Of course, any artist has their musical inspirations behind their work, influencing them in a certain way., “Some Country Song” and “Don’t Forget to Call Your Mom”, that take on a more folk/country-inspired genre, backed with the “Don’t Forget To Call Your Mom”, music video, that is set within a desert. When talking about these tracks, Gabe stated he felt inspired by Noah Kahan’s latest album, especially in the time of writing, as well as the overall strong folk scene taking the music industry by storm. He also gained massive inspiration from Zach Bryan. With Zach Bryan’s work, Gabe expresses how “there is something about it that is so raw and underproduced that in a way was inspiring to me when producing my own stuff” as it showed him that “it doesn’t need to be perfect.”

This EP captures that raw undertone, which can feel more authentic as a listener, and captures his effortless vocals, and songwriting ability. However, also allowing some more produced songs to showcase the different instrumentals. Like ‘Bleed Them Dry’, where you can hear a pairing of a harmonica and a guitar, with some background beats – which is a significant sound to that genre, and executed well – which is personally a music standout to me in this EP. One stand out lyric from that song, “Bleed Them Dry”, is “If you can’t respect me, than consider me a ghost”, Gabe explains it is a concept of “two people in a relationship but one is tugging all the weight”, wrapped into the idea of not letting people disrespect you/walk all over you.

For this record, he expresses that he wants fans to feel like “they have an escape” with his music, and expresses that a lot of people have said to him that these records make them “feel calm”.  However, he is continuing to “give out” as much music that he can that he “really loves and hopes other people love,” and wants the audiences to feel however they do about a song and appreciates that, as music is so personal to every listener. An artist is authentic to their work and the rest therefore, follows. I see that evidently in the song,”Don’t Forget To Call Your Mom’, that is a feel-good anthem when times can naturally get a little rough, which everyone can connect to. On the topic, I asked when was the last time he called his mum, in which it was that morning!

In terms of performing these new tracks live, he has had the opportunity to perform them a couple of times. His favourite songs to perform live are “Fault Line”, because it is the song he is “most sonically proud of” and likes that he is using a more “lower tone” in his vocals that he is “experimenting with” in some tracks he is working on now and “Some Country Song”. He explains that he “adds a harmonica” to the live performance that he “wishes was on the original recording” because it adds so much to the song and the performance.

With him achieving a lot in his early career already, Amplify asked what he wishes to achieve in the near future. He states he wants to “put out as much music as possible” and continue creating and would like to make a “huge impact” in the future but understands to just let the creativity happen authentically and the rest will naturally follow as it is meant to. In this present time, he also looks to keep “bettering himself” and learning.

Lastly, Gabe shares a piece of advice to any up-and-coming musicians, that was passed down to him in a letter that states if you are an artist to, “read read read…and write write write.” He also speaks of the importance to “write a song every day,” which circles back to how he initially was inspired for this record.

You can stream, “I Didn’t Think About This Til Now,” and his whole discography below: