James Colton soundtracks the sleepless glow of modern life with ‘Tangled Up in Blue Light’
Australian composer and multi-instrumentalist Andy James Bartlett returns under his solo moniker James Colton with the release of new single ‘Tangled Up in Blue Light’, a lush, late-night meditation on doom-scrolling, insomnia, and the strange emotional static of modern life - out 19 June.
Best known outside the project as the keyboard player for Deep Beep, Bartlett channels decades of musical obsession into James Colton: a genre-fluid outlet where analogue textures, electronic experimentation, and introspective songwriting collide. Drawing inspiration from artists like Radiohead, Pink Floyd, Air, Beck, Wilco and Spoon, the project drifts comfortably between progressive rock, jazz, and experimental electronica, equal parts meticulous sound design and emotional excavation.
Originally written on acoustic guitar during a restless 4 AM bout of phone-induced insomnia, ‘Tangled Up in Blue Light’ evolved into something far more cinematic after Bartlett shared the demo with collaborator and drummer Mitch McDonald.
Equal parts nostalgic and disorienting, ‘Tangled Up in Blue Light’ captures the emotional fog of living online too long, while finding moments of humour and humanity buried within the static.
“It started as a little song written on acoustic guitar, at around 4 AM during some self-induced insomnia caused by scrolling on my phone for too long before bed,” says Bartlett.
“I played the demo to Mitch McDonald a few days later. He had some ideas that pushed the track towards a Radiohead ‘Subterranean Homesick Alien’ vibe, which instantly made it much cooler. The song also took its title from a Bob Dylan lyric to pay further homage to Radiohead.
“We tracked the drums at Mitch’s studio, and then I sat with the recording for a few months. At some point during this time I came up with the outro’s ‘evil TikTok voice’ over some perpetually falling chords that never resolve to musically illustrate infinite doom-scrolling. Now it’s done I can finally smile about a problem that has been surreptitiously causing me mental health woes over the years.”
The single continues a decorated creative journey for Bartlett, whose accolades include winning the Folk category at the WAM Song of the Year Awards, multiple subsequent nominations across rock and jazz categories, a nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Original Music at the WA Screen Culture Awards, and a 2025 nomination for Keys/Synth Player of the Year at the West Australian Music Awards.
‘Tangled Up in Blue Light’ was written and produced by Andy James Bartlett, with drums, recording, and mix engineering by Mitch McDonald, and mastering by Andrew Edgson.
James Colton’s new single ‘Tangled Up In Blue Light’ is out now.
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