James Patrick is a sound artist, music producer, and educator. He has been creating original electronic music works and events involving technology and live music since the 1990s. He is the co-founder and owner of Slam Academy, an Ableton Certified Training Center based in Minneapolis. James is the owner of several forward thinking record labels, and was the curator of the international Spark Festival of Electronic Music. Through these platforms, he has helped propel the career of thousands of aspiring electronic music artists. During his first 10 years teaching sound design and audio production for the Institute of Production and Recording, he was in the first wave of Ableton Certified Trainers in the United States in 2008. He then travelled the world sharing his music and teaching with Dubspot in New York City.
His record labels and events are both supported by some of the greatest names in electronic music, and his personal recordings continue to make waves in the international electronic music circuit. Through his professional involvement in both academic and popular electronic realms, James curated and developed the now internationally recognized University of Minnesota’s Spark Festival. James is also the recipient of American Composer’s Forum MECA award, among other awards.
JP teaches and develops curricula in the fields of sound design, composition, music production, and modular synthesis. Under his expert guidance, students learn in a hands-on, fun environment, how to create music with technology. He was a pilot member of the Ableton Trainer Certification program, and he currently teaches private lessons, clinics, and workshops on behalf of himself, Slam Academy, and Ableton, Inc.
James has more than twenty years of professional experience directing events and playing music alongside other innovators in the genre, including Morton Subotnik, Alvin Lucier, Pole, Speedy J, Richard Devine, Bruno Pronsato, Akufen, Rich Hawtin, Magda, Deadbeat/Crackhaus, and many others.