Henry James, aka Boulderhead, might be the exception.
The Bristol-based producer can absolutely be trusted to deliver tracks that move you. Case in point: “Sense Hyper”, the closing track from his I Need Space To Dance EP on Rhythm Section International. In my opinion, it’s one of the most rousing and euphoric pieces of music to come out of 2024.
The Boulderhead project has been in existence for around eight years now. Henry tells me it all started with an obsession with music technology. “I’ve always loved nerding out on ways of making music… Boulderhead has been a journey in refining this process. Over the years, I’ve built up a set of rules and processes that define my sound.”
His productions combine brushstrokes of house, tech-house, broken beat, and more recently, minimal — all tied up in a contemplative bow. That’s what sets Boulderhead apart: his music doesn’t just make you dance, it makes you think.
Outside the alias, Henry also runs his own label, Mint Tea Records — a home for his own tracks and other like-minded characters including okayokayokay, Otodojo, MiG-29, and more. In the past few years, Gene On Earth’s Limousine Dream has also been picking up what he’s putting down, signing his Dancing Rain and Bread Butter Noodles Spice EPs.
Henry has been focused on expanding his live setup, incorporating the Push 2 MIDI controller into his workflow. You will hear this experimentation on his soon-to-be-released six-tracker out through Truly Madly’s Mind Helmet imprint.
“It’s been helping me explore new ways of using Ableton Live,” he says. “The goal now is to reach a point where I can perform and improvise live.”
Like many artists I speak to, he credits the work of his peers as the biggest source of inspiration. Here are five of those from what’s undoubtedly an endless list. Welcome to TROVE 022.
