Suggested Album

Maxwell, Muhly, & Couloir

Couloir

2016

Ephemera

Karel Martens

Posted September 20, 2025

I was immediately struck by Martens' aesthetic after seeing his work at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam this summer. Something about the combination of conceptual precision and analog production, as well as the use of pattern and variation, felt immediately musical to me. Well worth a look!

Bjarke Ingels

Posted January 5, 2026

Another creator I found through Netflix's "Abstract" series—why is that gone??? Ingels work, and particularly his thinking about his work, has been a great inspiration. Like music, architecture seems to require a kind of balance and precision to function properly, even when it appears meandering or improvisatory.

Marie Chouinard

Posted February 19, 2026

Chouinard is a visionary choreographer and creative mind. I saw "solos 1978-1998" way back in 1999 and it was a transformational experience for me.

Bliss Foster

Posted June, 2025

Always brilliant, funny, and inspiring, Bliss Foster's fantastic deep dives on contemporary fashion provide context, background, and insight into an often baffling world. I've always been drawn to fashion, but Bliss' long-form videos became a regular visit during lockdown and have been a go-to ever since. This look at Issay Miyake is highly recommended.

Reach Out

I'd love to hear from you. Let me know any thoughts about your music, ensemble, organization, or any collaborations you might be interested in initiating.

Featured Collaborator

Mark Takeshi McGregor (flute)

A true virtuoso flutist and contemporary music specialist, Mark has commissioned and/or premiered several of my works over the years. Also an excellent musical collaborator, Mark's approach to the instrument has informed my writing from my earliest days as a composer.

Ephemera

Christoph Niemann

Posted November 3, 2025

I was introduced to Niemann's work through an episode of the Netflix series "Abstract". Such fantastically imaginative, whimsical, and surprising work. Brilliant.

Rei Kawakubo

Posted December 17, 2025

Legendary designer and founder of COMMES des GARÇONS, Kawakubo is deeply inspiring for her uncompromising search for originality. Her work reaches beyond fashion and into the deep recesses of desire, doubt, and curiosity.

Deleuze & Guattari: A Thousand Plateaus

Posted April, 2025

This book has been a constant influence on my thinking with its provocative ideas and vertigo-inducing abstraction. Always teetering on the edge of the impenetrable, it's a text that begs to be opened, sampled, and put aside, revealing its gifts at a rate of years, not minutes.

Wolfgang Rihm

Posted October 2, 2025

I had the enormous pleasure and good fortune of seeing Ensemble Modern perform Jagden und Formen in Karlsruhe many years ago. The capacity for invention demonstrated by that work is mind-boggling and a constant source of both intimidation and motivation! Possibly the last of his kind.

composer@jamesbmaxwell.com