FAMILY arguments and watching Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation of Stephen King's The Shining were the inspirations behind Kingsley James' forthcoming single.
House Full Of Strangers, out on Friday, sees the Maitland singer-songwriter take his brand of blues-rock in a thrillingly dark direction.
The epic guitar solo, howling explosion of tension and James' baritone conjure up comparisons with Marlon Williams and Jeff Buckley.
"It's basically about a murder within a relationship and love and jealousy," James said. "It got me thinking about domestic violence and how common it is these days.
"I wanted to raise some sort of awareness of that. So it took quite the turn."
James was recording tracks for a future debut EP in his Barrington Tops shack when he spoke with the Newcastle Herald.
"I'm just trying to get some demos sorted at the moment," he said. "I'm trying to strip everything back."
James has been active of late performing at Dashville Nights and at Cornfest with his band that includes drummer Mat Taylor (Delta Lions, Grace Turner) and bassist Hayden Jarrett (Arcades & Lions).
He also plays keys for Americana acts Johnston City and Piper Butcher.
While James had a brief detour into sound engineering in Byron Bay, his main focus now is releasing his own music. The three singles - You and I, Wondering and Don't Wanna Leave - have been unveiled slowly since 2019.
"I was always intrigued by music," he said. "My dad collects records and he showed me a lot of old music and I was always intrigued by the older sounds, rather than the newer stuff."
James' next gig is with Johnston City at the Gum Ball on April 22.
