Q&A: From Ballet to Alt-Rock: An Interview with James the Seventh on Her Evolving Sound and Artistic Journey
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY JOY VILLANUEVA ☆
Photo By Kristie Zurmehly
James the Seventh is an artist who defies labels, blending her past as a pre-professional ballet dancer with an alt-rock edge that’s both raw and captivating. Known for her unique blend of experimental sounds and striking visuals, she’s made a name for herself through bold choices and a fearless approach to her art. In this interview, we explore how her journey from dance to music has shaped her evolving sound, her experience with social media, and the personal stories that fuel her songwriting.
Read below for Luna’s interview with James the Seventh about her viral tracks like “Unsexy,” to her latest release, “Trauma Olympics,” and the influences and challenges that define her creative process.
Photo By Kristie Zurmehly
LUNA: I discovered you on TikTok and was immediately drawn to your unique aesthetic, particularly the armor-inspired looks and your avant-garde stylistic choices. What role does social media play in your music career, especially as an emerging artist? How do you balance the personal side of social media with the professional aspect of being a musician?
JAMES THE SEVENTH: I got on TikTok for my music—back in 2021, and that’s how I’ve continued to express my music and whatnot. After I started making music, I actually found it very difficult to separate myself from it because it’s easy to identify with what you’re putting out. But over time, I’ve learned that it’s really not that deep. Now, I feel like it’s just fun. I mostly use social media for my music now, which is kind of weird, but honestly, it makes social media feel like a creative outlet.
Everybody’s just thinking about themselves and doing their own thing. It’s cool how easy it is to find so many amazing artists now through social media, which I love. I think I was a little intimidated by it at first when I first got on social media because I was like, Oh my gosh, there are so many talented people here. I felt like I wasn’t qualified in a way. But over time, you realize—nobody’s really thinking about you.
LUNA: You’ve had a unique transition from being a pre-professional ballet dancer to pursuing music. How has dance influenced your approach to music, especially now that you incorporate elements of movement into your performances and recordings?
JAMES THE SEVENTH: I feel like dance has started to work its way back into my life. During my first four years of making music, I was mostly focused on getting my knee back into shape after an injury, which is why I stopped dancing.
The ballet industry really values perfectionism, and sometimes that can get in the way of your artistic approach. In a way, that helped me because it made me want to learn more about music and figure out how I wanted to express myself. But at the same time, I would second-guess everything I did because I felt like I had to be perfect in some way, which is weird. Still, I just love dance. It’s been nice to start dancing again now that my knee has been feeling better. I feel like it even helps with my songwriting—if I want to move to it, I know I feel good about it. That kind of helps me intuitively find my way through a song while I’m making it.
LUNA: After your injury and surgery, you turned to songwriting and guitar playing. How did that period of recovery shape the way you write and produce music today?
JAMES THE SEVENTH: I started writing songs during lockdown, and that kind of isolation really influenced my songwriting.
A lot of my music is just me reflecting on what’s going on in my head—that’s usually where I go first when I sit down to write a song. I think it would be different if I had started writing while I was out and about, experiencing life as it happened. Now, I actually find it really difficult to write about what’s going on around me, at least in the outside world.
LUNA: Your early work was very experimental, but recently you’ve leaned more toward pop. How has your sound evolved, and what inspired this shift in direction?
JAMES THE SEVENTH: I think the biggest thing that inspired it was meeting my producer, Oren Yoel, who I’ve been working with for the past couple of years. He really challenged me to be fearless with how I deliver my vocals, and that led me to ways I didn’t even know I could sing. It took having someone bring that out of me instead of just sitting around, trying to do it by myself, and being too scared to experiment.
Getting comfortable with experimenting, and being okay with sounding weird, has changed the way I approach music. Now, every song almost feels like a character or a story in itself, rather than me trying to define my sound.
When I first started, I was so focused on figuring out what I wanted to sound like, which I think is super normal. But over time, I realized I can’t think about that too much. I just have to make the song, and whatever comes out of me—that’s what it is.
LUNA: “Unsexy” blew up on TikTok and is such a unique track. Can you talk a bit about the inspiration behind it and the message you wanted to convey?
JAMES THE SEVENTH: Thank you so much. The inspiration behind it—which I’ve posted about on TikTok—came from a phase I go in and out of. I ended up writing a song about it after a trip to LA in September. I’m based in Ohio right now, but when I went out there, I was feeling very emotional, hormonal, and dealing with depression. I thought, I’m gonna write songs, I’m gonna walk in, this is so cool—I get to come here and make music. But then I got there, and I just cried for three days straight, and Oren was like, “Okay… why don’t you just go home?” So, I spent a lot of time writing, working on these small instrumental ideas we made together. One day, Oren asked how I was feeling, and I said, “I feel unsexy.” And we both thought, That’s a good song idea.
At first, I wasn’t really sure what it meant to me yet, but then it just subconsciously came out—I was like, “Oh, please don’t come to bed with me.” And suddenly, I realized, Oh, okay…that’s how I feel right now.
LUNA: Your new song, “Trauma Olympics,” explores the feeling of competing with someone over who has the most traumatic background. It’s also a shift from your previous work, bringing in more of an alt-rock vibe. What inspired this change in both theme and sound?
JAMES THE SEVENTH: The theme of the song came from a little party I was at. I overheard some people—who, to be fair, were probably just really drunk—going, “Oh my gosh, we should all just tell our trauma to each other, and see who’s is the worst.” I was standing there like, What the f*ck is going on?
I kept thinking about that conversation for days, and eventually, I was like, That would be such a funny song. Then the phrase “trauma olympics” popped into my head, and I just started writing. I don’t even know—I kind of just put on a beat and went t-t-t-trauma, and after that, it just happened.
LUNA: As someone who’s self-taught, what has been the most challenging aspect of learning to produce and write your own music? How do you stay motivated in those moments of self-doubt?
JAMES THE SEVENTH: Yeah, I feel like learning how to produce was a challenge. I do have a hand in producing my songs now and my producer, Oren, really does it. My songs “Off the Grid,” “Trauma Olympics,” “Babydoll,” and “Invisible Ink” began from demos I produced myself, and it has given me the opportunity to make these songs with him while he's in LA and I'm in Ohio.
Learning to make my own demos was definitely the hardest part. I produced all of my earlier music, and it was a lot of just sitting there, staring at my computer, thinking, I have no idea what to do next. I think the hardest part is just getting yourself to sit down and be okay with constantly feeling frustrated, hating the way everything sounds—until, eventually, it clicks. A big motivator for me, honestly, was my injury. Sometimes I feel like I was so much more motivated back then, just walking into it. But I think that’s because I literally couldn’t walk for a while, so I had nothing else to do. It became a true outlet for me while I was feeling so many emotions about the injury and isolation.
LUNA: The visuals for your music are also a big part of your identity as an artist. How do you decide on the aesthetics for each project, and do dance or movement play into that?
JAMES THE SEVENTH: I think dance and movement have recently started playing a bigger role in my music. Feeling more comfortable in my body and physically being able to do more has given me a new way to be creative with how I present my music. That’s always been a huge thing for me.
I’ve always admired artists like Marina and Lana—all the iconic queens—I love how they build these beautiful worlds I can escape into. I’m an artist on a budget, but that world-building aspect is something I really respect.
When it comes to making my own music, I usually just see a vibe in my head immediately. With “Mind Your Business,” I was like, Oh—black heels, white background. So I rented a photo studio and went the next day with my sister.
I kind of just go in blind and follow the random little pictures I see in my mind. I never really have a clear picture of what’s going to happen, but it’s fun to see how it all turns out.
LUNA: You were recognized as Pittsburgh’s Artist of the Week in April 2024. What does it mean to you to be gaining more recognition, and how do you plan to continue growing in the music industry?
JAMES THE SEVENTH: It’s super cool because I remember before I even put a song out or even wrote one, I used to think, What if someone listens to me when I’m not there? That’s such a weird thought. And now, people actually listen to my music. It’s crazy.
I don’t know—this whole journey in music has been a bit of a mystery to me. I’m just doing what I feel to express myself. I would love to do this for a living, go on tour—that’s like my biggest dream.
But for now, I’m just going to keep making music and expressing my art however I feel.
LUNA: Is there anything else you’d like to share with Luna?
JAMES THE SEVENTH: I have ideas in my mind and I’m thinking about them a lot. I’m excited for when I start working on it. I’m just still figuring out exactly what I want to do with it, but I feel like once I’m done putting out my EP—because I’ve got a few more songs for it that I’ll keep releasing—I’ll be ready to dive into the next project. I’m excited!
