James Southwell

James Southwell James is not afraid to push his music past all previously existing boundaries and well past what most musicians consider the limits of what is safe.

Canberra - AUSTRALIA
•
Producer/Guitarist/Singer/Songwriter
•
Email for Gigs, Sessions & Tours
•
James Southwell and his world-class band have been delivering a high-energy mix of blues, rock, and funk for two decades & they will leave you wanting more! His music comes from a deep love of the blues with heavy inspirational rock & roll influences. This band will capture your attention and you will be totally engrossed as James projects himself off the stage and through you with his music.

27/08/2026

The Hudson Broadcast Dual is officially back on my board after a couple of years away. Honestly, the second I turned it on, I couldn't remember why I ever took it off!

335 - Hudson Broadcast - Tonal Recall (slap) - Two-Rock Vintage Deluxe - Shure 545SD






27/08/2026

I’ve been having a lot of fun experimenting with stereo programmed drum recording lately.

This track was recorded through a pair of Echofix FET Compressors, Spring Reverbs & Neve RNDI-M's, with the left and right drum channels running through independent signal chains before being captured in stereo.

Bass is also running through an Echofix FET Compressor and a Mozztronics Tube DI for a little extra warmth and character.

Really loving what these pieces are bringing to the session!

- KO II
- FET Comp & Spring Reverb
- RNDI-M Direct Box
- DI-2 Valve Direct Box

This Saturday at the Steampacket Hotel in Nelligen not only will the band and I be playing - but Marji Curran (Marji Sit...
25/08/2026

This Saturday at the Steampacket Hotel in Nelligen not only will the band and I be playing - but Marji Curran (Marji Sitauti) & I will also be doing our acoustic duo thing playing her wonderful songs.

I'll have Adrian Herbert on drums & Alec Coulson on bass - which I'm very excited about!

Free entry - 7pm-10pm

Come along to this great pub on Saturday. I think it'll be something pretty special!

21/08/2026

I love the Echofix Compressor on bass, but I'm ridiculously excited to hear what this matched pair does on drums.

The drum tracks are being programmed with the Teenage Engineering KO II, then sent through a stereo chain of Echofix FET Compressors, spring reverbs, and Rupert Neve RNDI-M DIs.

The drums are mixed, panned, summed to stereo, and recorded through completely independent left and right signal paths. A little over the top? Maybe. Worth it? Absolutely.



18/08/2026

I'm currently working on a less crude video, but I wanted to share a snip of how awesome the Van Diemens AAD SI Amos is!

335 thru the Amos and straight into my Two-Rock Vintage Deluxe.

Sa-weet!

Richard Turner
Two-Rock
Gibson Custom

Now, you may be shocked to read this because I keep it pretty under wraps, but I love effects pedals. Especially fuzz pe...
15/08/2026

Now, you may be shocked to read this because I keep it pretty under wraps, but I love effects pedals. Especially fuzz pedals. And I've played a lot of them — from $50 bargain finds to boutique unicorns worth thousands.

These two are genuinely two of my favourite fuzz pedals. Full stop.

Rich at Van Diemens is building some seriously special gear, and if you're even remotely into fuzz, you owe it to yourself to check them out.

Hit up Rich and grab one.

Or better yet... grab them all. 

Richard Turner

Just BARELY starting to get my head around this thing, and I'm already LOVING it! Such an intuitive and musical creation...
07/08/2026

Just BARELY starting to get my head around this thing, and I'm already LOVING it!
Such an intuitive and musical creation tool.

Does anyone have any time on this or a similar sampler/groove box?..

And yes - the GK Ultraphones are incredible, too!

teenage engineering

Given the literal THOUSANDS of kilometres I spent behind the wheel this weekend, I made a conscious effort to take in th...
06/08/2026

Given the literal THOUSANDS of kilometres I spent behind the wheel this weekend, I made a conscious effort to take in the incredible scenery and places I was travelling through.

Normally, I'm too focused on making good time and not focused enough on making good *Time*. It's a small distinction, but an important one. I realised that something I'd lost was knowing that when you slow down enough to appreciate the journey, the trip somehow feels shorter and more rewarding at the same time.

So along the way, I stopped more often, stretched my legs, wandered around, and took far more photos than I normally would.

This is one of those photos, taken about two hours southeast of Adelaide in Culburra, South Australia.

And that's my story. 😊

Between when I left home at 4am Friday and 11pm Monday when I arrived back, there were 91 hours.In that time, I drove 3,...
04/08/2026

Between when I left home at 4am Friday and 11pm Monday when I arrived back, there were 91 hours.

In that time, I drove 3,144.5km, which took 39 hours and 39 minutes behind the wheel.

That means 43.57% of the entire trip was spent driving. 🚗💨

The remaining 56.43% had to fit in absolutely everything else - including three gigs, sleeping, eating etc..

When you put it like that, it's no surprise I spent pretty much the entire day asleep today! 😂

Well, a HUGE weekend of shows across Victoria and South Australia is done and dusted, and it's time to head home to my g...
03/08/2026

Well, a HUGE weekend of shows across Victoria and South Australia is done and dusted, and it's time to head home to my girls! 😍😍😍😍

A massive thank you to everyone who came out to the shows over the weekend. It was a lot of driving for three gigs, but I'm so glad I finally made it back to Adelaide for the first time in 20 years!

Huge thanks to Lucas & Jo at the Cally in Warrnambool, and Esther & Talis at Memphis Slim's House of Blues for booking me and looking after me so well.

A special shout-out to Mario and Tim for jumping on Saturday night's band show. One of the biggest reasons I wanted to get back to Adelaide was to connect with local musicians and become part of the incredible music scene that's thriving there. You guys were exactly why. Not only are you both fantastic players, but you were ready to musically link arms and take the songs wherever they wanted to go. I had an absolute blast.

I'm going to work on making it back a little more often than once every 20 years! 😂

But for now, it's time to get home and see my girls. 😍😍😍😍

Memphis Slim's House of Blues
The Cally Hotel
Talis Heggart
Tim Wilsdon
Mario Marino

Address

Canberra, ACT

Telephone

+61478536686

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when James Southwell posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Establishment

Send a message to James Southwell:

Shortcuts

Share

Category