Whatever The Weather

Loraine James typically reshapes club rhythms, R&B, and hip-hop under her given name, yet the Whatever the Weather alias ventures into another realm centered on ambient and IDM. Its self-titled debut surfaced in 2022, merging faint digital fractures with airy vocal fragments and interrupted at times by sudden bursts of rapid breakbeats.

Born in London, she issued her debut album Detail in 2017, though wider attention arrived with the 2019 Hyperdub release For You and I, a deeply personal tribute to her upbringing. Further releases on the same imprint—the 2020 Nothing EP and 2021’s Reflection—likewise earned praise. During work on Reflection, James simultaneously developed material that felt softer and less beat-driven than her usual output, often relying on calm piano lines and gently undulating synth layers. Although the clearest references point to ’90s IDM and ambient, she has also named Deftones and American Football among the project’s influences. Ghostly International issued Whatever the Weather’s self-titled 2022 debut, a label whose roster includes Telefon Tel Aviv and Lusine, two additional artists who left a mark on James.