Psychedelic-modernist easy listening

James Lowrie writes experimental chamber-pop new-music epics. As a composer he both celebrates and interrogates genre conventions, putting familiar sounds into unusual forms and contexts to make them sound fresh and new again. As Marianne Moore once said about poetry - “Imaginary gardens with real toads in them”!

Freesound, Current Resonance, The FAWN Chamber Creative, The Berrow Duo and Soundstreams have all performed his works in concert. In 2020, his “Chainsmoking;Index” for solo piano premiered to great acclaim at ArrayMusic, an organization that has been commissioning Canada’s most legendary experimental artists for decades. In 2022 he participated in the Bozzini Quartet’s Composers Kitchen residency. In 2026, he represented Canada at the ISCM World New Music Days.

James is the creator, host, and writer of CBC’s composer brain, short videos humorously dissecting pop music from a composer’s perspective. He has contributed to CBC’s “In Concert” as a featured guest. He is the creator, host, and curator of Radio Haha, an experimental music-comedy talk show with live electronic processing at Toronto’s Tranzac Club.

James’s instrument is the classical guitar. A student of the great Eli Kassner for over a decade, James has performed at numerous events in Toronto including the Guitar Society of Toronto and solo recital tours in Southeastern Ontario. He regularly performers guitar and electronics in Toronto’s lively improv music scene.

James is currently in his DMA at University under the supervision of Dr. Kotoka Suzuki. He has been contributing to ongoing research into music cognition and humour at IRCAM in Paris as of 2024.