James Williams & Owain Kelly are contemporary composers for film and television based in Manchester, UK
First meeting in Leeds’ vibrant independent music scene circa 2005, they have worked together on numerous projects for over a decade, including much-lauded electronic synth-wave act “NO CEREMONY///” and experimental orchestral folk quartet "Tigers That Talked". Most recently, they scored and produced the soundtrack to upcoming Cuban psychological film “¿Eres Tu Papa?”.
Their music has been heard in campaigns for British film “Quartet”, MTV's “The Hills”, “Made In Chelsea” and “Catfish”, as well as in advertising campaigns for Samsung, L’Oreal and Visit Ireland. They have collaborated with the likes of Joey Santiago (Pixies), Mike Joyce (The Smiths) and James Vincent McMorrow, and, as NO CEREMONY///, they have frequently been commissioned to remix acts including John Grant, alt-j, The 1975, Crystal Fighters, Mew, Temper Trap and Patrick Wolf.
Praise For James Williams & Owain Kelly
“I knew I could rely on James and Owain because I had worked with them before and what they delivered lived up to my expectations. Both are hard working creatives, very intelligent and sensitive people. Having good taste in and extensive knowledge about music is important to do this job and they both have this as well. It's always been easy to share ideas with them and this shows in the final result. They definitely have all the necessary skills to face any project. I can't recommend them highly enough. Thank you again!” - Rudy Riveron-Sanchez, Writer/Director of ¿Eres Tu, Papa?“When I met James and Owain it didn’t take me long to be convinced they were the right people for the job. They have a huge passion for both film and music, and almost instantly understood exactly what we were trying to create. Throughout the project, they were easy to talk to and quick to deliver new ideas, and adapted to whatever was thrown at them. They continually delivered pieces that were inventive and sensitive to what the film needed. To anyone looking to work with two creative, committed and forward thinking composers, I couldn’t recommend them highly enough.” - Emma Berkofsky, Producer, "¿Eres Tu, Papa?"
Praise For NO CEREMONY///
"It pleases us no end that they should, in this, the age of the tyranny of the voice, make as their leitmotif, their trademark, the non-voice, the machine cry, the studio whimper, that they should prioritise the inhuman when elsewhere we are being overwhelmed with “passion”. [Sounds like] if New Order were an out and out pop group operating today, with Paul Epworth as producer. Likely to tear you apart." - The Guardian"While waiting to find out more, we console ourselves with the few pieces posted on Youtube. Vague, fluid, fascinating, phosphorescent, these little lights in the night are as enigmatic as their discrete author(s) [...] A volcano under the ice." - Les InRocks
"These producers are the kids following the footsteps of Burial and the early dubstep pioneers twisting soul with steel beams and mechanics and leaving it translatable for everyone." - Diplo
"[They] bury you under an avalanche of sound and emotion. Bare, elegiac piano adorned with super-ball alien vocals and exacto drum programming." - RCRDLBL
"Just stunning." - Huw Stephens, BBC Radio 1
"Some of the best sample-electronica we’ve ever come across - it’s incredible." - Amazing Radio
Praise For Tigers That Talked
“Masters of the slow brood, they ebb and flow with filmic elegance, swaying between maudlin melodrama and frenzied, multi-layered crescendos.” - NME.“My new favourite band. This is such a good record [...] if you give it three listens, it’ll give you a lifetime of love,” - Steve Lamacq's Record of the Week, BBC Radio 6 Music.
“A shimmering, violin-flecked pastoral pop beauty.” - The Sunday Times.