Land Observations is a solo research project by artist and musician James Scott Brooks. The music explores warm, repetitive minimalism via electric and acoustic VI and XII string guitar, to create instrumentals around ideas of landscape, architecture and place.

Sometimes composed on artist residencies, after site-specific walks, or at other times from secondary sources; the resulting instrumental guitar recordings are inspired by psychogeographic features of particular man-made or natural landscapes. Brooks spends considerable time researching with each of the compositions attempting to respond to the specific qualities of specific locations. Working within the vibrant musical genre of Modern Composition, the recordings are sometimes intimate and other times widescreen in approach.

Furthermore, it could be said that the instrumental compositions bring to mind, in equal parts, the intricacy of American Takoma guitar players, the clean angular sound of new wave guitar, or the arranged repetition of Electronica. To date he has released worldwide two long player albums on Mute records, Roman Roads IV - XI and his Ode to The Grand Tour, along with a 7” vinyl EP.

The third album ‘As yet untitled’ is due out in 2019 and was written whilst on a recent artist residency in Paris. James Brooks has performed the Land Observations project live at various festivals and venues across France, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Australia, and Denmark.

To date, Land Observations music has been used in a number of Film, TV and Radio programmes. Furthermore, he was a musician on the Ivor Novello Award winning soundtrack recording for the BFI Film ‘The Epic of Everest’ by Simon Fisher-Turner, resulting in the live soundtrack and Film being premiered in Leicester Square, London, along with being performed live at the Shanghai International Film Festival, China, and the Trento Film festival, Italy