Tag Archives: Blue Earth Sound

Mixtape #176

01 October 2025


An ingenious multi-instrumentalist, bandleader and composer, James Weir has long been a creative force in Chicago’s music scene, first with the post punk band NE HI and later with the synth driven Spun Out. With Blue Earth Sound, he has taken a bold turn into jazz inflected, cinematic territory, crafting music that’s reflective, expansive, and full of unexpected depth. Weir’s transformation from rock bass player to jazz bandleader came out of a period of soul-searching, inspired by his diverse influences, from Japanese fusion to the soul-jazz classics of his adopted city. With Cicero Nights, his debut album released last month, Weir’s vision fully comes to life, embracing both the organic chemistry of his collaborators and his love for improvisation and expressive instrumentation. So we’re thrilled to kick off October with a very special selection of tracks handpicked and mixed by Weir, offering a glimpse into some of the influences at play in his own sonic world. Press play and enjoy!

  1. Okada Taxi – A Short Visit [Planetgroove]
  2. Talk Talk – I Believe in You [EMI / Parlophone]
  3. Aphex Twin – IZ-US [Sire / Warp]
  4. Stefano Torossi – Feeling Tense [Anthology Recordings]
  5. Hiroshi Suzuki – Romance [Columbia]
  6. Donald Byrd – Miss Kane [Blue Note]
  7. The Spinners – Could It Be I’m Falling in Love [Atlantic]
  8. Misha Panfilov – Together [Fnr]
  9. Christian Prommer’s Drumlesson – Can You Feel It [Sonar Kollektiv]
  10. Kraan – Silky Way [Harvest]
  11. The Meters – Stormy [Josie]
  12. Alessandro Alessandroni – Tema di Susie [Cinedelic Records / Escalation]
  13. Sonny Sharrock – Who Does She Hope To Be? [Axiom]
  14. Elysian Spring – Blue Sands [Despa]
  15. Lemon Quartet – Dry Pot Dream [Last Resort]

Blue Earth Sound shares final single, ‘On the Court’, from upcoming debut LP Cicero Nights

27 August 2025

We’ve been eagerly anticipating the release of Cicero Nights, the debut album from  multi-instrumentalist, bandleader and composer James Weir. Releasing under his new moniker Blue Earth Sound, Cicero Nights was recorded at the International Anthem studio space in Chicago with in-house engineer Dave Vettraino, with stellar contributions from drummer Patch Romanowski, Resavoir’s Will Miller on trumpet, flautist Eamonn Pritzy, and longtime collaborator Michael Wells, amongst others.

Following previous singles ‘Mariposa‘ and ‘Lover’s Rock’, and ahead of the album’s release on September 12th through Root Records, Blue Earth Sound slipped in a new preview with ‘On the Court’, a track inspired by the soundtrack to the 1994 basketball documentary ‘Hoop Dreams’. Groovy and irresistibly catchy, ‘On the Court’ taps in to hip hop influences, and you can listen to it below. You’ll be playing it again the second it ends.

Blue Earth Sound shares second single, ‘Lover’s Rock’, from upcoming LP Cicero Nights

14 June 2025

Ahead of the release of Cicero Nights, James Weir’s Blue Earth Sound has unleashed a new track, ‘Lover’s Rock’,  following lead single ‘Mariposa‘ released last month. Cicero Nights was recorded at the International Anthem studio space in Chicago with in-house engineer Dave Vettraino, and as we had mentioned, the multi-instrumentalist, bandleader and composer assembled a stellar cast of collaborators including drummer Patch Romanowski, Resavoir’s Will Miller on trumpet, flautist Eamonn Pritzy, and longtime collaborator Michael Wells. Also featuring percussion from guest contributors Cabeza De Chivo’s Alex Aguero and Destroyer’s Joshua Wells, ‘Lover’s Rock’ captures the collaborative energy of the project. With inspiration drawn from the cinematic soul of Isaac Hayes and the vibrant rhythms of Latin America, ‘Lover’s Rock’ is a feel-good, celestial track. Listen to it below and grab the album when it drops on September 12th through Root Records.

James Weir unveils new Blue Earth Sound project; debut album Cicero Nights out in September

13 May 2025

Based in Chicago, James Weir is a multi-instrumentalist, bandleader and composer best known for his work in NE-HI and Spun Out. He has unearthed his new project, Blue Earth Sound, marking a shift from the post-punk and synth-driven energy of his earlier bands toward something more reflective and expansive. The project came out of a period of soul-searching, as Weir sought a musical outlet that reflected where he is in life today, while also pushing his songwriting skills forward. Rather than drawing from the music that inspired him in his teens, he was compelled to create something that reflected his experiences in his 20s and 30s.

He shares:

“My earlier bands were inspired by what I fell in love with between 16–21. Subconsciously, a lot of the writing was about energy, angst, and partying. I wanted to make music inspired by life experiences and the music I fell in love with in my late 20s and early 30s—70s Chicago jazz and soul, Talk Talk, Japanese jazz, and Italian soundtrack composers like Stefano Torossi.”

The result is Cicero Nights, the debut album from Blue Earth Sound, out on September 12th through Root Records. Cicero Nights began when Weir bought a piano and started writing in his basement in Humboldt Park. “After I bought a piano and put it in my basement in Humboldt Park, it turned out my neighbour Patch Romanowski was a drummer,” he explains. “We developed this chemistry and would play in the basement together. That gave me a big step forward with my relationship to writing on the piano.”

Recorded at the International Anthem studio space in Chicago, with in-house engineer Dave Vettraino, Cicero Nights features a group of collaborators including drummer Patch Romanowski, Resavoir’s Will Miller on trumpet, flautist Eamonn Pritzy, and longtime collaborator Michael Wells.

Alongside the album announcement, Blue Earth Sound has shared the opening track ‘Mariposa’, which serves as a sublime introduction to the album. Speaking about the track, Weir says:

“The song was inspired by my hometown in Minnesota and dedicated to my wife, Morgan. I pictured a colorful butterfly floating over a beige cornfield—like how the flute and trumpet float over the arrangement. The moment Will came in and improvised trumpet over it, I knew we had a beautiful, melancholic track that felt like the most important on the album to me.”

Listen to ‘Mariposa’ now.