An English singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist,
James Righton first gained notice in the late 2000s as the keyboardist and vocalist for the London "new-rave" outfit
Klaxons. His public profile increased in the 2010s upon marrying popular English actress Keira Knightly. When
Klaxons disbanded in 2015 after issuing three trendsetting LPs, he formed the like-minded but more refined
Shock Machine, who issued their eponymous debut in 2017. Three years later,
Righton released his solo debut, the '70s pop-inspired
Performer.
A native of Stratford-Upon-Avon,
Righton formed
Klaxons alongside Jamie Reynolds and
Simon Taylor-Davis in 2005. Originally operating under the moniker Klaxons (Not Centaurs), which was inspired by the Italian poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti's futurism text The Futurist Manifesto, they adopted the shortened
Klaxons name in 2007, the same year they issued their first single, "Gravity's Rainbow." Distilling the experience of late-'80s rave music using standard rock & roll instrumentation, the band released their debut album,
Myths of the Near Future, to much critical acclaim, even taking home the year's much sought after Mercury Prize. The group's metallic 2010 psych- and dubstep-inspired sophomore effort,
Surfing the Void, signaled a slight stylistic change from its predecessor, but still managed to chart in multiple countries. The band enlisted the help of James Murphy,
Gorgon City,
Chemical Brothers'
Tom Rowland, and
Erol Alkan to produce their third and final album, 2014's dancefloor-ready
Love Frequency.
Klaxons officially ceased operations the following year after a farewell tour.
In 2016
Righton started up a hazy electronic pop project called
Shock Machine and issued the group's eponymous debut album in 2017. In 2020 he released his debut solo outing,
The Performer, which looked to the smooth mid- to late-'70s emissions of
Bryan Ferry,
the Beach Boys,
Nick Lowe, and
Lee Hazlewood for inspiration. ~ James Christopher Monger