Biography
The Range serves as the recording name for electronic producer James Hinton, who hails from Providence, Rhode Island and shares no connection with Bruce Hornsby's group of the same name. Hinton sources manipulated vocal samples primarily from YouTube along with material drawn from hip-hop, R&B, and dancehall reggae, then layers them over bright, sentimental melodies and simmering rhythms that nod to jungle and footwork while emphasizing a slow/fast contrast. Although the tracks contain sufficient low end for club play, they lean more toward solitary late-night reflection. Following early notice for the 2013 debut album Nonfiction, Hinton joined the Domino roster and issued Potential in 2016 before returning with Mercury in 2022.
Squarepusher, Four Tet, the Baltimore club scene, and U.K. grime all shaped Hinton's approach; he first produced as Stegosaurus and self-released the album Cower in 2010. After switching to the Range name, his initial EP The Big Dip came out on Brooklyn's Astro Nautico imprint in late 2011. Around the same period he supplied remixes for labelmates Kuhn, Howse, and Time Wharp as well as for downtempo/hip-hop artist Supreme Cuts. In 2012 Hinton moved to Brighton, U.K.-based Donky Pitch, which released the disk EP that July and followed with Seneca in April 2013. Nonfiction appeared in October of that year via a co-release between Donky Pitch and Project: Mooncircle, earning immediate praise that included a placement on Pitchfork's year-end Top 50 Albums list.
Panasonic arrived as a new EP in March 2014, and Hinton also reworked tracks by Mansionair and How to Dress Well that year. Before year's end he teamed with vocalist Niia on the Breaking EP. After relocating to Brooklyn, Hinton signed with Domino and delivered his second album Potential in March 2016. The 2017 singles "New Lots" and "With You" later surfaced on the Remixes EP alongside versions by Yaeji, D.K., and Kenton Slash Demon. In 2019 he issued Providence, an EP of previously unreleased material recorded during the first album sessions. A 2020 collaboration with Tourist produced the single "Last." For the third album Mercury, released in 2022, Hinton incorporated influences from IDM, rave, and grime.
Squarepusher, Four Tet, the Baltimore club scene, and U.K. grime all shaped Hinton's approach; he first produced as Stegosaurus and self-released the album Cower in 2010. After switching to the Range name, his initial EP The Big Dip came out on Brooklyn's Astro Nautico imprint in late 2011. Around the same period he supplied remixes for labelmates Kuhn, Howse, and Time Wharp as well as for downtempo/hip-hop artist Supreme Cuts. In 2012 Hinton moved to Brighton, U.K.-based Donky Pitch, which released the disk EP that July and followed with Seneca in April 2013. Nonfiction appeared in October of that year via a co-release between Donky Pitch and Project: Mooncircle, earning immediate praise that included a placement on Pitchfork's year-end Top 50 Albums list.
Panasonic arrived as a new EP in March 2014, and Hinton also reworked tracks by Mansionair and How to Dress Well that year. Before year's end he teamed with vocalist Niia on the Breaking EP. After relocating to Brooklyn, Hinton signed with Domino and delivered his second album Potential in March 2016. The 2017 singles "New Lots" and "With You" later surfaced on the Remixes EP alongside versions by Yaeji, D.K., and Kenton Slash Demon. In 2019 he issued Providence, an EP of previously unreleased material recorded during the first album sessions. A 2020 collaboration with Tourist produced the single "Last." For the third album Mercury, released in 2022, Hinton incorporated influences from IDM, rave, and grime.
Albums
Singles
