Sigha

Sigha is the performance name of London-based British techno producer James Shaw, with Neon Chambers listed as an associated member name. He emerges from London’s post-dubstep scene in 2009 and works across techno, dubstep, dub techno, experimental and electronica.

Style and approach

Shaw’s work centres on process, repetition, sound design and tonal detail. His music often combines deep low end, white noise textures, rising melodic lines and a sense of ritual or catharsis. It also draws on a tension between functionality for the dance floor and more abstract or high-art ideas. His production style ranges from high-fidelity, carefully shaped sound to drier, harsher and more caustic textures, depending on the release.

Alongside production, Sigha is active as a DJ and live performer. His DJ sets use long, phased transitions as well as more direct shifts in energy, while his live shows bring together modular synthesis, selected drum machines and effects units in a club-oriented format.

Aliases and related projects

Shaw uses several aliases to develop different parts of his musical approach. As A Vision of Love, he releases a two-part series for Avian that explores a more mechanical, wrought-iron sound. Under the name Faugust, he issues recordings that lean towards proto-shoegaze and more cerebral ideas. These side projects sit alongside Sigha’s own techno output and extend his interest in mixing post-rock, new wave, industrial techno, noise and drone.

Releases and labels

As Sigha, Shaw releases music on Blueprint, the label run by James Ruskin and associated with artists such as Surgeon and Oliver Ho. He also releases through his own Our Circula Sound imprint. A Series of Desecrations appears on Our Circula Sound and presents a stripped, functional side of his work. On Avian, The Purification Loops and Techno Derivatives continue his focus on heavy drum patterns, noise and more introspective, deconstructed techno forms.

His later output appears on the Belgian label Token. Releases including Our Father / A Better Way of Living and Christ Figures / New Puritan represent a distillation of the main strands of his sound: romantic in tone, but designed for the club.