James Holden

About

James Holden (born 1979, Exeter) is an English electronic musician, DJ, and founder of the Border Community label, whose career has moved steadily from progressive trance and club-floor remixes - for artists including Madonna and Depeche Mode - toward increasingly experimental live performance. His 2013 album The Inheritors, built around modular synthesizers and pagan-folk rhythms, is widely regarded as a landmark of experimental electronic music, and his 2023 solo album Imagine This Is a High Dimensional Space of All Possibilities was ranked among the year's best by Mojo, Pitchfork, and Resident Advisor. He also develops his own open-source live-performance software, Benny.

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Spotify monthly listeners

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Spotify followers

8.0/10

Pitchfork score for 'The Universe Will Take Care of You' (2025)

8.1/10

AnyDecentMusic score for 'Imagine This Is a High Dimensional Space of All Possibilities' (2023)

What's new

2025-06
Holden & Zimpel released their debut collaborative album 'The Universe Will Take Care of You' on 13 June 2025 via Border Community, earning an 8.0 from Pitchfork and 8/10 from Clash and Line of Best Fit.
2025-06
Holden performed as Holden & Zimpel at Ravekjavik Forever, Fuzja, Łódź, Poland on 26 June 2025.
2025-06
Holden presented his open-source live-performance software Benny at London's Crux Festival in 2025.
2025-04
Holden & Zimpel performed a live session at MUTEK Montreal in 2025, with a recording made available online.
2023-03
Holden's solo album 'Imagine This Is a High Dimensional Space of All Possibilities' was ranked 18th best album of 2023 by Mojo and included in Pitchfork's best electronic music of 2023.

Tour

ŁódźAmsterdamLamezia TermeHamburgDonostiaMadridBarcelonaValenciaMontrealStroudLondonIstanbul

Tracks

The Inheritors2013 landmark album - modular synth and pagan-folk rhythms, widely cited as a turning point in experimental electronic music

Imagine This Is a High Dimensional Space of All Possibilities2023 solo album, ranked in Mojo's top 20 albums of the year and Pitchfork's best electronic of 2023

The Universe Will Take Care of You2025 collaborative album with Polish clarinetist Waclaw Zimpel, scored 8.0 on Pitchfork

The Sky Was Pink (Nathan Fake remix)2004 remix that brought wide attention to Holden and Border Community; described as having 'epic universalism'

The Animal Spirits2017 album with live band, blending electronic music and jazz; scored 81/100 on Metacritic