STREAM: James Iha - Look to Sky (The End Records)

James Iha is proud to premiere his new solo album Look to Sky - an exciting collection of sophisticated pop melodies, lyrical sharpness and guitar driven rock - a week before it's September 18th release on Conan O'Brien's Team Coco.

Look to Sky sees Iha returning as a solo artist after nearly a decade and a half, newly inspired, a little wiser and proud to share what he's learned and created. "I feel like everything should lead up to something and this is a culmination of my journey".

Perhaps best known as a co-founding member and longtime guitarist for Smashing Pumpkins, James has gathered musical depth and craftsmanship inspired by his many bands (A Perfect Circle, Tinted Windows) as well as his production work (Cat Power, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs), to create this new album that offers listeners a wide range of sounds that touch upon each aspect of James' impressive career.

Songs such as "Speed Of Love" "Gemini" and "To Who Knows Where," three of the ten impressive tracks that tie together James' diverse and stylistic career, showcase his talents as a musician, songwriter, lyricist, arranger, and producer.

Look to Sky was produced by James and Nathan Larson of Shudder To Think and features special guests Karen O and Nick Zinner of The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Sara Quin of Tegan and Sara, Nina Persson of the Cardigans, Fountain Of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger and Tom Verlaine, frontman of New York rock band Television.

"I like the idea of that feeling you have when you're young and you're lying in the grass and looking up at the sky, and you get that feeling of how big the world is" says Iha. "It's a very cinematic moment that captured the overall feel of the album to me. Also, the title sounded like a phrase you'd hear in a '50s B-movie, like a directive: 'The aliens are coming. Look to the sky.' I mean it from the point of view of, 'Look all around you. Here's this incredible world we're in and there are all these beautiful things happening.'"

After a successful performance at this year's Fuji Rock Festival, James will return to Japan this September for a run of tour dates followed by a string of East Coast US shows. Tour Dates below, more to be announced.



Finding success producing and remixing songs for Ladytron and Michael Stipe (among others), James recently remixed a track for the upcoming Halo 4 remix album to be released this October.

Tour Dates:
September 22 -- Umekoji Park-- Kyoto, Japan
September 24 -- Club Quattro -- Osaka, Japan
September 26 -- Club Quattro -- Tokyo, Japan
October 4 -- The Church Of Boston -- Boston, MA

October 5 -- Mercury Lounge -- New York, NY
This is a late show - Milagres are opening and go on at 10:30PM and James goes on at 11:30PM. Tickets are $17 in advance and $20 DOS.

October 6 -- Maxwell's -- Hoboken, NJ
October 7 -- World Café Live -- Philadelphia, PA
October 8 -- U Street -- Washington, DC

Links:
James Iha