Jim-E Stack

American producer Jim-E Stack, born James Horton Stack, initially gained recognition through propulsive yet introspective experimental club tracks before shifting toward more song-oriented compositions and teaming up with various notable figures in indie and left-field pop. Early projects, including the 2014 album Tell Me I Belong, featured dense, bass-driven dance cuts that blended fragmented R&B vocal samples with melancholic, emotive melodies set against subtly forceful rhythms. Over time his approach grew more polished and nuanced, leading to partnerships with Bon Iver, Empress Of, HAIM, and Charli XCX; the first two of those artists later appeared on his 2020 follow-up full-length, EPHEMERA. Further explorations into dancehall and R&B surfaced on material such as the 2022 single “Next to Me,” which featured Lucky Daye.

Having played drums from childhood, Stack grew up in San Francisco and began crafting hip-hop beats in 2008, gradually incorporating elements of U.K. grime and Baltimore club into his work. He relocated to New Orleans to pursue studies in music production and technology at Loyola University; a remix of Nguzunguzu’s “Mirage” drew attention and paved the way for his debut release, the 2011 Come Between EP, which earned considerable rotation on BBC Radio 1. After issuing the “Bubble Boy” single on Jerome LOL and Samo Sound Boy’s Body High imprint, he settled in Brooklyn during summer 2012 and turned his focus to completing a first album. In 2013 he reworked Deptford Goth’s “Union” and joined acid house pioneer DJ Pierre for Body High’s autumn tour dates. Following support shows with Shlohmo, the debut album Tell Me I Belong appeared on Innovative Leisure in July 2014. Subsequent touring found him opening for Bonobo across North America as well as sharing bills with Jacques Greene and Chrome Sparks.

Early 2016 brought the standalone track “Deadstream,” later issued in a Rostam-produced version that included Charli XCX, alongside a cover of Björk’s “Hyperballad” featuring Jana Hunter of Lower Dens; he also supplied the opening cut on How to Dress Well’s album Care. Throughout the next year he contributed songwriting or performances to recordings by HAIM, Cold Specks, and Lydia Ainsworth. Additional work included the Domino-released B-side “With You,” a collaboration with the Range that later received a Yaeji remix, while his own EP It’s Jim-ee emerged around the same period. The non-album cuts “Somebody” and “Forgotten” followed in 2018, succeeded in 2019 by a cover of Perfume Genius’ “When I’m with Him” that featured Empress Of. Closing the decade, he joined Ant Clemons on “Good Enough” and lent his hand to albums by Freya Ridings, Lower Dens, and Caroline Polachek.

Further joint efforts with Empress Of, HAIM, and Charli XCX continued into 2020, accompanied by a remix of Active Child’s “Cruel World” and co-production duties on Bon Iver’s “PDLIF.” Bon Iver in turn guested on Stack’s “Jeanie,” a track from the sophomore album EPHEMERA, released that October and also featuring Empress Of, Ant Clemons, Octavian, and additional guests. In 2021 he issued “Sweet & Spice” with Deb Never plus the EP Promotional Only, while “Next to Me” arrived the following year in tandem with Lucky Daye.