Joshua Sade James (photo via Instagram)It’s love in the time of quarantine for Canadian artist Joshua Sade James and his yearning new single, “I’ll Wait For You.”
“I originally wrote this song about four months into quarantine,” James shares. “It took me less than two hours; all of those feelings were incredibly raw at the time, so I wasn’t surprised at how quickly it flowed.
“I’m in a long-distance relationship,” he explains, “and once the borders closed, it became virtually impossible for us to meet — the only way was with the power of FaceTime.
“In a way, ‘I’ll Wait For You’ was written almost as a ‘swan song’ to my relationship since we didn’t — and still don’t — know when we will be able to see each other again,” he adds.
“I’ll Wait For You” was penned with his grandfather’s acoustic guitar on-hand, but ultimately James knew the background vocals and overall vibe needed to level-up their impact, one way or another.
“I just knew I wanted a grand experience to match the feelings I put into the song. Once I started revisiting it, I knew I wanted a choir background which… Checked out. If you ask any of my producers, I am one who is prone to wanting grand embellishments on my tracks!”
“Since we were under lockdown, however, I had to improvise. My producer, Mike Tompa, turned my voice into an army of 30!! I cried the first time I heard the song in its full form, and had an ‘a-ha’ moment: when I perform this song live, it’s gonna be epic.”
Between shifting rhythms and a romantic rap thrown in for good measure, it all comes together with James’s smooth-as-silk vocals shimmering above the gorgeous pensive production.
Wanting to capture “the essence” of his life and the song, James admits there is a duality at play in the music video.
“We wanted to capture the two sides of me: the one who is JSJ, who wears extravagant outfits and SLAYYYYYS, and the Joshua who loves being lazy and hanging out in his velour tracksuit. We also wanted to capture the essence of the song: being in love, and separated by factors outside of your control.”
“So, naturally, I chose to wear a fancy outfit and sing while lost in the wintry woods, while also in my sweats in a studio on FaceTime. It represents the before and after, the behind the scenes vs the final product, and the stage performance vs the crushing reality.”
James kept busy during the pandemic releasing his previous singles and videos, “All Fall Down” and “Closer” in 2020 and early 2021 respectively, as well as a six-track EP, Mirrors And Smoke.
He’s also putting the finishing touches on his upcoming EP, JSJ, (Joshua Sade James).
In addition to his extensive performing and recording work, James is an active advocate for mental health rights and proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Check out the new song, “I’ll Wait For You,” below. You can follow Joshua on Instagram here.
