Barbarossa, the nom de plume of Londoner James Mathe, follows up his 2013 album Bloodlines with Imager, out May 19th in North America on Memphis Industries. Imager is a cerebral, slow-burning album, tinged with melancholy and an alluring humanism. Mathe's musical journey started with folk-tinged balladry that saw him become part Fence Collective, and subsequently a band member for the likes of Jose Gonzalez, Johnny Flynn and Junip. With Bloodlines, however, Mathe started to infuse his song writing with electronic flourishes, and now with Imager, he has completed his transformation into a fully fledged electronic soul pioneer. Imager, then, is the sound of Barbarossa stepping out of the shadows and into the limelight as a talent to be reckoned with in his own right, questioning his surroundings, his own creativity and coming up with answers that are compelling, affecting and thoughtful.
