James Vincent McMorrow | |
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 McMorrow performing in 2022 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 14 February 1983 Dublin, Ireland |
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| Website | jamesvmcmorrow |
James Vincent McMorrow (born 14 February 1983) is an Irish singer and songwriter.
McMorrow's debut album, Early in the Morning, was released in Ireland in February 2010, and in the United States and Europe in 2011, to widespread acclaim.[1] He made his UK television debut on BBC Two's Later... with Jools Holland on 27 May 2011.[2]
In 2014, he released his second album, Post Tropical. The album was recorded in 2013 in a small desert town of Tornillo, 89 kilometres (55 mi) south of El Paso in Texas.[3] The studio is located on a pecan farm, and McMorrow found the location "the most surreal place to work", and one that helped add to the tone of the album and inspire his creativity. He said "I think it's kind of engrained in the record, more than any pinpointed thing. I can hear the hot bedded air in this part. You can hear the birds in the pianos."[4]
In 2016, McMorrow announced his third studio album and released "Rising Water", its lead single. We Move was produced by McMorrow, Nineteen85, Frank Dukes and Two Inch Punch. It was released on 2 September 2016. It marks a shift in McMorrow's style towards more R&B-tinged sounds. His cover of the Chris Isaak song "Wicked Game" was used in the first official full-length trailer for the sixth season of the HBO hit series Game of Thrones. In April 2016, he was featured on the promotional single "I'm in Love" from Kygo's debut album, Cloud Nine.
In May 2017, McMorrow released his fourth studio album True Care. The album has peaked at number 22 on the Irish Albums Chart. Tony Clayton-Lea from The Irish Times said, "An artist such as James Vincent McMorrow is commercially successful only on a certain level, so announcing a new album – arriving less than 10 months after his third, the tactically planned We Move – isn’t the most financially astute of decision. There is, however, method in his unorthodox approach. The songs here, on the other hand, are sometimes flawed, occasionally faltering, but always within the grasp of the listener. By being “reactive to the world” he lives in, McMorrow has learned a crucial tortoise/hare lesson: instinct beats intellect every time."
In an already-unpredictable career, 2021’s album titled Grapefruit Season saw James Vincent McMorrow push himself in all new ways. Produced by James alongside fellow genre-disruptors, Paul Epworth, Kenny Beats, Lil Silva and Patrick Wimberly, McMorrow’s fifth album was recorded between London, Los Angeles and Dublin largely before the pandemic struck. The album featured hits such as acclaimed single, Gone (which was B-Listed at Radio 1) and standalone collaboration, Be Somebody with dance trailblazers, Rudimental as well as I Should Go with legendary L.A based producer Kenny Beats.
The Less I Knew, released in June 2022, was James’ most pivotal move back to his roots. Dealing with the effect of living up to people’s expectations and trying to maintain the status he had achieved, he realised it compromised the music that he made. He had always tried to live up to the ideal of the careerist musician to complement the immense drive he has as a writer and performer.
He has announced another album titled "Wide Open, Horses" set for a release in June 2024. Announcing his latest single, 'Never Gone' as the hero of the record, he said, “Never Gone” as “the anchor of the record”, adding, “It sums up the whole album; you’re just trying to fight meaninglessness. I always felt like I’ve been trying to find meaning so I could be remembered."[5]
In January 2012, McMorrow received a European Border Breakers Award in recognition of Early In The Morning's success beyond Ireland.[6]
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRE [7] |
AUS [8] |
BEL (Fl) [9] |
CAN [10] |
FRA [11] |
NL [12] |
SCO [13] |
SWI [14] |
UK [15] |
US [16] | ||||||||||
| Early in the Morning |
|
22 | —[A] | 143 | — | 87 | 68 | 72 | — | 68 | —[B] | ||||||||
| Post Tropical |
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2 | 25 | 77 | — | 122 | 21 | 43 | 78 | 28 | 76 |
|
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| We Move |
|
1 | 28 | 52 | 77 | 134 | 39 | 46 | 63 | 47 | —[C] | ||||||||
| True Care |
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22 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | —[D] | — | ||||||||
| Grapefruit Season |
|
8 | — | — | — | — | — | 77 | — | 84 | — | ||||||||
| The Less I Knew[24] |
|
29 | — | — | — | — | — | – | — | – | — | ||||||||
| Wide Open, Horses |
|
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| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| The Sparrow and the Wolf |
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| James Vincent McMorrow |
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| We Don't Eat |
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| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRE [7] |
AUS [8] |
BEL (Fl) [9] |
BEL (Wa) [26] |
FRA [11] |
NZ Hot [27] |
SCO [28] |
UK [15] |
UK Indie [29] |
US Rock Digital [30] | ||||||||||
| "This Old Dark Machine"[31] | 2011 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Early in the Morning | |||||||
| "Sparrow and the Wolf"[32] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "We Don't Eat"[33] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | —[E] | — | — | |||||||||
| "Higher Love" | 4 | 35 | — | — | — | — | 22 | 21 | 1 | — | We Don't Eat | ||||||||
| "Wicked Game" | 2012 | — | — | — | — | 111 | — | — | — | 44 | 39 | ||||||||
| "Cavalier" | 2014 | 66 | — | — | — | 81 | — | — | — | 44 | — | Post Tropical | |||||||
| "Red Dust"[36] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "How to Waste a Moment"[37] | 2015 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |||||||
| "Rising Water" | 2016 | — | — | —[F] | —[G] | — | — | — | — | — | — | We Move | |||||||
| "Evil" | — | — | —[H] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "Get Low" | 2017 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 46 | — | ||||||||
| "One Thousand Times" | — | — | — | —[I] | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "Me and My Friends" | 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |||||||
| "Headlights"[38] | 2020 | —[J] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Grapefruit Season | |||||||
| "I Should Go"[40] | — | — | — | —[K] | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "Gone"[41] | —[L] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "Be Somebody"[43] (with Rudimental) |
2021 | —[M] | — | — | — | — | 34 | — | — | — | — | Ground Control | |||||||
| "Waiting"[45] | —[N] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Grapefruit Season | ||||||||
| "Paradise"[47] | —[O] | — | — | — | — | 38 | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "Tru Love" | —[P] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "Planes in the Sky"[50] | —[Q] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "The Less I Knew"[52] | 2022 | —[R] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | The Less I Knew | |||||||
| "Hurricane"[54] | —[S] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "At Christmas"[56] | —[T] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||||||||
| "What are the Chances" (with Man Alive) |
2023 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "Stay Cool" | 2024 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUT [58] |
NL Tip [59] |
NOR [60] |
SCO [61] |
SWE [62] |
SWI [14] |
UK [15] |
UK Dance [63] |
US Dance [64] | |||||||||||
| "I'm in Love" (Kygo featuring James Vincent McMorrow) |
2016 | 38 | 18 | 9 | 38 | 65 | 39 | 99 | 22 | — | Cloud Nine | ||||||||
| "The Future" (San Holo featuring James Vincent McMorrow) |
2017 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 | Non-album single | ||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Title | Year | Artist | Album | Songwriter | Feature / Vocals | Producer | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary | Secondary | Additional | ||||||
| "See Yourself" | 2019 | Moreton | Non-album single | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| "Just to Exist" | 2018 | All Tvvins | Just To Exist | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| "always on my mind" | San Holo | album1 | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| "Run Away" | 2017 | dvsn | Morning After | ✓ | ||||
| "The Future" | San Holo | Non-album single | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| "I'm in Love" | 2016 | Kygo | Cloud Nine | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| "Hype" | Drake | Views | ✓ | |||||
| "Angela" | dvsn | 5 Sept | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
