A YOUNG musician has released his first commercial album.

James Bell, 26, is from Haydon Bridge and released his solo album Sunthread in August, which he described as a mix of pop, rock and adult contemporary.

He originally came up with the album's concept in 2019.

"It's a concept album about life," James said. "About the ups and the downs, life is a mix of joy and sadness and everything in between, which is what I hope this album tries to represent."

He is a member of the Hexham Amateur Stage Society and has performed in shows including Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Hello Dolly.

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James works part-time with his mum Diana, assisting her in the family shop, Mr George's Museum of Time in Haydon Bridge.

"I also do a musical theatre radio show for Radio Tyneside, which is the hospital and community radio station in Newcastle and Gateshead. I love doing that, it's voluntary but it's a great community station and I love being able to present my show, pick the music and showcase different songs and musicals," he said.

The majority of Sunthread was recorded at Beckview Studios in Scarborough, where James worked with session musicians and studio engineer, Chris Jones.

"It's been a very long but rewarding process," James said. "I started writing the album in earnest at the start of 2022 and I'd done a degree in Creative Music Technology at the University of Hull, so I honed my songwriting and music composition skills there. I knew when I graduated I'd like to be able to write, release, produce and sing on my own album."

James said he has a wide range of musical influences, ranging from Kate Bush and Genesis to David Bowie, Enya and musical theatre.

"I'm so proud to have got to this point and for people to hear it," he added. "I think the hardest thing about an album is just how long the process can be, mixing in particular.

"The mixing of a song really does inform how people perceive a song, so it's very important," he said. 

The mixing process involves ensuring different instruments in a song sound relative to each other and that it sounds balanced overall.

Sunthread is now available on all major streaming platforms.