On Composing for Steam Pump • by Charles James • 1

Hamilton Arts & Letters     Michael Mitchell (1943 - 2020) is a celebrated Canadian artist and director of the short film Steam Pump. Michael Mitchell was a close friend of my father’s. He and Geoffrey met in the late 70’s and bonded over a common interest in photography. From a young age, there was an unspoken agreement between me and my brother that he was dad’s “coolest” friend; probably a combination of casual profanity in our presence and his ability to make us laugh (usually at Geoffrey’s expense). When Canadian artist/photographer Arnaud Maggs passed away in 2012, I played a solo bass improvisation at the memorial, where Michael was in attendance. Hearing this performance is what gave him the idea that perhaps I could compose some music for Steam Pump, which at the time was in its early stages. I know Geoffrey had mentioned this to me at some point, but I was preoccupied with the life of a performing musician and hadn’t given any serious thought about writing to picture. Following the shoot in 2013, a rough version of Steam Pump was screened for friends and colleagues, and later shelved. I knew Michael’s health had been declining in the intervening years, but news of his hospitalization towards the end of 2019 made me aware of how serious it was. During this period, my dad reminded me that Steam Pump still needed music; this time I was on board. Then the pandemic hit. Not too long afterwards, we lost Michael. It’s strange to look back on that time, and how quickly everything changed.    [  >>>>>   FORWARD ]   + [Distillate © HA&L + Charles James {from the Greek bios} -- the course of a life.]