Hi, I’m James 
You’ve found my corner of the Internet.
Fàilte (welcome)
Encore
I co-founded Encore, a marketplace for booking incredible live musicians, bands & DJs, and was CEO for ten years. We’ve helped over 50,000 customers book live music for the biggest days of their lives, and have helped our artists earn over £25 million.
Encore was acquired by Mixcloud in September 2024, and I stepped down in December 2024.
When I get a moment, I try to write about the lessons learned along the way.
Endurance Sport
I love exploring my limits, and have completed two Ironmans and a few marathons.
I’ve also done some stupid stuff, like cycling up the same short hill in London 55 times in a day. Click here if that’s your cup of tea.
Music
I’m a multi-instrumentalist and singer. I began writing my own music in my mid-20s, and I just released my debut EP of ambient piano music, Adrift.
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Valencia: my first Sub-3 Marathon (2:59:17)
This post is split in two: If you’re here for the tactics, click here to jump down. Otherwise, keep reading… I remember signing up for my first marathon – Athens – back in 2019 and thinking: “I can run a half marathon in 1h25… How hard can it be to run a full marathon in 3 hours?”…
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Goodbye, Encore
Encore has been my home for the last ten years. A third of my life. It’s utterly surreal to be writing a letter about moving on from the company I started. Although, come to think of it, likening Encore to a home or a house doesn’t feel quite right… Comparing Encore to a boat would…
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Running with Spirit
Of all the places I expected to find spiritual Insight, Parkrun was not one of them. I’m fascinated by the psychology and neurochemistry of endurance sport. There are unique mental states available to us that we can only experience when pushing our physical bodies to our limits – and occasionally, beyond them. Science offers us plenty…
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Encore has been acquired by Mixcloud
I’m pleased to announce that Encore has been acquired by Mixcloud. Mixcloud is the global platform for DJs, music producers, and radio communities, and one of the largest DJ streaming platforms in the world with 25 million users. Exactly 10 years ago, at 6.43pm on the 18th of September 2014, the very first musician registered…
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Getting closer to the 3hr barrier… Brighton Marathon 2024
Chip time: 3:08:27 “Avoid and reduce stress in the week leading up to your race.” – textbook marathon advice
Brighton 
was hillier, windier, and a few degrees cooler than Milan, but I still got what I came for: a tan (borderline sunburn), a new PB, fleeting moments of mushin no shin (無心の心) and… -
An unplanned break from Triathlon and an abandoned Ultra. What the hell happened?
I first got into triathlon in 2019. And when I say I “got into triathlon”, what I really mean is: I fell down a rabbit hole and became completely obsessed. In my first year, I completed my first Sprint, Olympic and Half Ironman races. I was hooked, and entered my first Ironman. This was postponed…
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My Focus Stack for 2023
Over the last ten years, I’ve experimented with a myriad of approaches to maximising my focus while working, writing, or creating music. My hunt for the best way to focus has been fuelled by a simple reason: being ‘in flow‘ is immensely satisfying. Flow is a state of mind that yields meaningful progress and breakthroughs,…
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Ironman Wales 2022: Full Debrief
How do you even begin to describe one of the most incredible days of your life? To understand why this race meant so much to me, we need to go back to 2018. I’m 24 years old, and I’m in Hyde Park. I’ve just finished a small 10k race in the snow, and I’m standing…
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6 Lessons Learned from Paris Marathon 2022
This weekend I ran Paris Marathon, my fifth attempt at the marathon distance (if you include the Ironman) and my third marathon race. Overall, it was awesome! Hearing thousands of people chanting “Allez, allez, allez!” made me feel like I was in the Tour de France, and parts of the course were stunning. I felt…
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Triathlon Changed My Life
3 years ago I was inactive and generally unhappy. I wasn’t looking after my body, and I wasn’t really enjoying running at all. Photo on the left was taken during a 10k race in October 2018 that I struggled through and finished in 46:17.
In 2019, I discovered triathlon and fell deeply, madly in…
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