At college, James shared a dorm room area with
Matt Mahaffey, lead member of the band
Self. Following the release of their debut album
Subliminal Plastic Motives (1995), Mahaffey recruited James for live performances, later being inducted as a full-time member. Playing keyboard and recording several albums for the band, he moved with the group to
Los Angeles,
California, In the area, James opened his own studio named the Archive Studio. He's used the location to work with various artists, including
Luther Vandross,
Van Hunt,
Ne-Yo,
Paramore,
Miguel,
Frank Ocean,
Janelle Monáe, and
Kings of Leon. He began working with the singer in 2012, mixing albums such as
Plectrumelectrum (2014) and
Art Official Age (2014) at
Paisley Park Studios. He additionally performed guitar as part of Prince's live band and toured as a sound engineer.
Around the World in a Day (1985), and the
concert film Prince and the Revolution: Live (1985), additionally working on an unreleased demo for "
Do Me, Baby". At the
59th Annual Grammy Awards, James was nominated in the
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical category for
Hit n Run Phase Two, and was again nominated at the
67th Annual Grammy Awards in the
Best Historical Album category for the super deluxe edition of
Diamonds and Pearls. ==See also==