The Range

James Hinton, aka The Range, is not only a remarkably gifted producer, he’s also a really smart guy with a degree in physics and an obsession with Roman philosopher Seneca – naming a track and an EP after the man. Maybe it’s because he spent most of his childhood alone, holed up in the basement of his parents’ house. Being an only child, The Range seems like the go-to guy to talk about going your own way. And about what it means to be lonely a lot.

 

Phone interview by Koen van Bommel, photos shot by David Brandon Geeting in New York, USA

 

“I’ve definitely experienced being oversaturated with people and would prefer to be alone”

 

 

On your song ‘Jamie’, there’s a sample where someone says: ‘The more people that surround me, the more lonely I feel.’ Is that something you can relate to?

Yeah, that’s the reason I chose that particular sample. I grew up as an only child, and I think when you grow up as an only child, you learn to get really comfortable in your own space. I’ve definitely experienced being oversaturated with people and would prefer to be alone. I mean, the more people you interact with, the more you kind of fold into yourself. As for that sample, it’s a very simple statement, but it really encapsulates the feeling I had when I was working on that particular song.

 

So I guess you’re good at being alone?

Yeah, I think so. I mean, I just spent so much time making music, playing drums and watching movies by myself when I was a kid – clearly more time than with other people. I remember just being in the basement for pretty much my whole childhood. I liked spending that much time by myself. I think for better or for worse it’s kind of how I relate to the world now.

 

What’s the longest time you’ve ever gone without human contact?

That’s a great question! Probably, like, two weeks? One summer, when my family went on vacation and I was staying home, that was probably the longest time.

 

Two weeks can be pretty long.

Yeah, I think so.

 

How did that make you feel?

I think it was the summer when I graduated from high school, so I must have been 17. It was the first time that I had to go out and get food for myself. It gave me a sense of responsibility. I remember making a lot of music as well, and feeling, stupidly, like it was my job or something. I would go out and go to the store, get food and then record for, like, a really long time.

 

“I don’t really like to make music when someone else is in the room”

 

 

Is making music a solitary process for you? Or do you work together with other people?

I have, but this project is very intentionally just me and my computer. I don’t really like to make music when someone else is in the room. I just don’t like to show people too much stuff before it’s really done. I’ve tried some collaborations, and played in bands a long time ago, but it’s definitely part of the project to be by myself.

 

Are you also alone when you’re on tour?

Yeah, I only travel by myself. It’s a little lonely.

 

Would you rather have some people with you?

I’ve thought about bringing other people, but then again, I like being alone. It’s an increasingly rare time when I can actually be just by myself. Logistically it can be sort of difficult, so I’m resisting it, but at some point it might be a necessary thing.

 

Sartre says, ‘Hell is other people.’ If I flip that around and say, ‘Heaven is the absence of other people,’ would that still be right?

It’s fascinating, because they’re such stark statements. There’s obviously an element of truth to both. But I think that the persistence of either flips the equation around. I think I’ve just studied too much math to know that neither is true. You know, some people will go on Twitter posting rants about how they just hate everyone and they just wanna go lie in a hole and never talk to anyone ever again. And then the next day they’re posting selfies.

 

 

The Range headlines the second edition of Somewhere Else alongside mysterious London producer patten and Somewhere Else residents Malawi at Doka, Amsterdam on 14 February. The night is free for Subbacultcha! members before midnight.