JAMES BISHOP

JAMES BISHOP

It’s 2017. James Bishop has just passed the thousand-mile mark. There’s dirt under his fingernails, grit in his teeth, and dust in his hair. He came here to find God. Instead, the trail used him to make a record.

Bishop had just graduated college, which precipitated a personal crisis. Faith, art, and music suddenly felt more like questions than answers. So he made the absurd and radical choice to hike 1,400 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail while recording the sounds that would become BODYBOUND.

BODYBOUND is Bishop’s striking debut album. Found sounds from the PCT are its foundation: Ice crackles in Alpine streams; skies crash with thunder; steps thud, and crickets chirp. Bishop masterfully layers vocals over these organic soundscapes, creating rich, textural compositions. BODYBOUND is cohesive yet defies categorization. Bishop taps into a range of influences, from punk to classical and EDM — he introduces the grandeur of a 100-voice choir in one moment, leaning into electronic grunge in the next. Bishop’s production techniques stand out, but his lyrics speak straight to your humanity. Follow BODYBOUND’s invitation, and lose yourself in it to become found.

The trials of the trail — both technical and personal — resonate on BODYBOUND. Out of necessity, Bishop brought only a small fiberglass guitar and a microphone attached to his iPhone on the 1,400-mile trek. He also admits he was naïvely unprepared for the reality of the PCT. After a few weeks of hiking, it felt like the trail “owned him,” and the project took on a life-or-death quality. “My sense of identity disintegrated,” he shared. “I entered this space where I was looking backward and saying, ‘what have I been?’ And then looking ahead and saying, ‘who do I want to be?’ Then I began to explore ideas about the relationships between things, my place in those relationships, and the idea that everything is interconnected.”

The production process took five years, owing to the tracks’ hand-stitched nature and Bishop’s relentless perfectionism. The result is an incredibly cohesive and intentional album. BODYBOUND will undoubtedly catch the ears of alternative-folk music lovers, but the album also offers an evocative cultural commentary. Its lyrical themes interrogate the meaning of love, connection, belief, and existence itself, transmuting existential nausea into the thrill of being alive.

BODYBOUND introduces audiences to James Bishop, but the artist’s origin story goes back further. Bishop spent his childhood in a mobile home with more instruments than people. His parents are both working-class musicians; his father is a self-employed classical and jazz guitarist, and his mother is a drummer who plays 13 other instruments besides. From an early age, Bishop was free to experiment with a medley of sounds and cultivated an ear for composition.

Bishop’s musical roots also trace back deep in his lineage. The Filipino side of his family is highly musical, a fact that he attributes to cultural inheritance. In his email signature, Bishop includes Baybayin script representing his grandmother’s maiden name. “The script is a small way of preserving this aspect of my life, my identity, my family's story,” Bishop said. “That’s the story I belong to, essentially, with the tension and the struggle of assimilation.”

With support from family, Bishop began making music at a young age. He picked up the guitar at nine. By the time he was in middle school, he’d formed his first band and begun writing songs. Before long, he’d joined his uncle, producer Dave Darling, in the recording studio to lay his first tracks. That initial invitation would develop into a long-term mentor relationship. Over time, he mastered Pro Tools and music programming. He’d continue to write and produce in his bedroom and form bands with friends until leaving for college.

Bishop attended Point Loma Nazarene University in his hometown of San Diego and studied music composition. There, he was introduced to a more rigorous, intellectual approach to music and classical theory. After graduating in 2017, he laid the groundwork for BODYBOUND while staying active in the music community, producing music for fellow artists and composing independent film scores.

In 2022, Bishop signed a production deal with KZZ Music. The multi-media production company would give him a platform to release and promote his music. “I’m thrilled to be working with KZZ,” Bishop shared. “It’s allowed me to step more into the professional sphere, and it feels incredible to have fellow creatives back my vision.” With a taste of BODYBOUND, fans will be eager to hear what’s next.