Le Youth
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Wes James, better known by his stage name Le Youth, is an American electronic musician, DJ, and producer. James was raised in Toledo, Ohio and currently resides in Los Angeles, California.
Music career
Breakthrough
Le Youth's debut track "Cool" quickly garnered attention on SoundCloud, amassing over 200,000 streams in the six months following its release. The music video for the song was directed by Renata Raksha and was released on April 9, 2013. The single was officially released on Ultra on July 2, 2013, and was later selected as the Record of the Week on BBC Radio 1. James' next single "Dance with Me" featuring vocals from Dominique Young Unique was released on February 7, 2014.
Le Youth continued to release R&B and house-inspired songs in the years following, including remixes of popular tracks like Disclosure's "Voices" and originals like "Real".
Homewerk Label and Tour, Continued Success
On October 7, 2016, Le Youth released "Me Without You" on his own label, Homewerk Records. James cited the label's launch as a way of taking control of his music, particularly with respect to release schedules. "If You're Leaving" also released later that year on Homewerk, reaching number one on Sirius XM's Chill playlist. The accompanying Homewerk Tour saw the artist perform at 13 venues in North America.
By 2017, Le Youth had released remixes of songs by popular singers such as Katy Perry, Christina Aguilera, and Sia. On August 4 of that year, "Clap Your Hands" released on Warner Music, featuring then-unknown Ava Max.
This Never Happened, PRGRSSN, and Debut Album
The release of Aquiver on November 7, 2019 marked a significant sonic shift in Le Youth's discography. The instrumental record was both inspired by and released on Daniel Goldstein's (Lane 8) This Never Happened label. James hailed the deeper melodic techno and progressive sounds as his best work to date.
On July 9, 2020, Le Youth released his second EP on This Never Happened, Waves. Collaboration with Lane 8 continued with a remix of "The Rope (feat. POLIÇA)" and a support role in Goldstein's Brightest Lights Tour.
The PRGRSSN Records imprint was founded by James in 2020 to further explore progressive house and techno sounds.[citation needed] The first release on PRGRSSN came on April 17, 2020 with Interstellar by thomfjord and featured a remix of the title track by Le Youth. On May 14, tracks "Swimming" and "&." followed, marking Le Youth's first release on his new label. PRGRSSN released records from James and other artists through 2022.
Le Youth released his debut album, Reminders, on May 27, 2022. Split into two discs, the former contains fifteen original mixes while the latter comprises four extended mixes. The album features collaborations with fellow melodic house producers such as Sultan & Shepard.
Sophomore Album, & EP
Le Youth released his sophomore album About Us on September 29, 2023. Inspired by a run of crowd-focused live shows in 2022, James expressed his desire to capture a "spectrum of emotions" with the album, with some tracks "[moving] you emotionally" and others "moving the dance floor." About Us [Deluxe] was released on March 15, 2024, and included 8 remixes of 7 songs from the album.
Like About Us, Le Youth referenced one of his previous songs when he released & (EP) on October 11, 2024. This collaboration-focused record was designed to "shine a spotlight" on some of James' favorite up and coming artists; Otherwish, MYRNE, and Robby East were among the names to feature on the EP and have gone on to release music on the This Never Happened label.[self-published source?]
Discography
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEL (FL) | DEN | IRE | SCO | UK | |||
| "Cool" | 2013 | —[A] | 19 | — | 28 | 26 | Non-Album Singles |
| "Dance with Me" (featuring Dominique Young Unique) | 2014 | —[B] | — | 87 | 18 | 11 | |
| "Feel Your Love" (featuring Javeon) | — | — | — | — | 146 | ||
| "Girl" | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Real" | 2015 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Touch" | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Me Without You" (featuring Tay Beckham) | 2016 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Boomerang" (featuring Tay Beckham) | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "If You're Leaving" (featuring Sydnie) | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Walk Away" | 2017 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Clap Your Hands" | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "I Could Always" (featuring MNDR) | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Stay" (featuring Karen Harding) | 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Selfish"(with Samana) | 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Obvious"(with Adam Rom) | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "About Us" (featuring EMME) | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Gemini" | — | — | — | — | — | Gemini / Arizona | |
| "Arizona" | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Rise" | — | — | — | — | — | Rise / Unattached | |
| "Unattached" | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Other Voices" | — | — | — | — | — | Underwater / Other Voices | |
| "Underwater" | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Home Away From Home"(with OCULA featuring Karra) | — | — | — | — | — | Non-Album Singles | |
| "Skipping Stones" (with Sultan & Shepard) | 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Miraje" | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Virgo" | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Empire"(with OCULA featuring Møøne) | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Lullaby"(with Anakim featuring Linney) | 2022 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Lighthouse"(featuring RBBTS) | — | — | — | — | — | Reminders | |
| "Pattern"(with Sultan & Shepard featuring Emily Falvey) | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Dreaming"(featuring Tailor) | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Hang On"(featuring Gordi) | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Chills" | — | — | — | — | — | Chills / Cycles | |
| "Cycles" | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Lost"(with Jerro featuring Lizzy Land) | 2023 | — | — | — | — | — | Non-Album Singles |
| "Hologram"(featuring LeyeT) | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Protocol"(with Hessian featuring Able Joseph) | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Like You Did | — | — | — | — | — | About Us | |
| "I Will Leave a Light On"(with Lane 8 featuring Jyll) | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Talking Like That"(featuring EMME) | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "I Don't Mind"(featuring Kairos Grove) | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Paradise"(featuring Oaks) | 2024 | — | — | — | — | — | About Us [Deluxe] |
| "Stay Still"(with Forester featuring Lyrah) | — | — | — | — | — | Non-Album Single | |
| "every-little-part"(with Otherwish featuring LeyeT) | — | — | — | — | — | & | |
| "golden"(with MYRNE featuring Bertie Scott) | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "seven-twenty-four"(with Robby East) | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "i don't know what to say" (with Lipless featuring Hana Fatur) | 2025 | — | — | — | — | — | who are you really? |
| "still my ecstasy"(featuring Ella Poletti) | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "sanctuary"(featuring ALLKNIGHT) | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "blinded" (featuring Orem) | 2026 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "alone"(with Forester featuring Robertson) | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Albums
| Title | Year |
|---|---|
| Reminders | 2022 |
| Reminders Remixed | |
| About Us | 2023 |
| About Us [Deluxe] | 2024 |
| who are you really? | 2026 |
EPs
| Title | Year |
|---|---|
| Dance With Me (Remixes) | 2014 |
| Me Without You (Remixes) | 2016 |
| Boomerang (Remixes) | |
| If You're Leaving (Remixes) | |
| Aquiver | 2019 |
| Swimming/&. | 2020 |
| Waves | |
| Gemini / Arizona | |
| Rise / Unattached | |
| Underwater / Other Voices | |
| Colour | 2021 |
| Underwater - Remixes | |
| Chills / Cycles | 2022 |
| & | 2024 |
Footnotes
- A ^ "Cool" did not enter the Ultratop 50, but peaked at number 10 on the Flemish Ultratip chart, the top-100 songs which haven't made the Ultratop 50.
- B ^ "Dance With Me" did not enter the Ultratop 50, but peaked at number 42 on the Flemish Ultratip chart, the top-100 songs which haven't made the Ultratop 50..