Bio

James Mountain is a Sydney-based film composer.

With a background in classical guitar and double bass, James studied composition at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music before relocating to Sydney in 2019 to complete a Masters of Film Music at the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS).

James has written music for concert and music theatre, but primarily composes for film.

In 2023, he received an APRA AMCOS Screen Music Award for Best Music for a Short Film for his score to the AACTA-nominated short film Mud Crab. He was also nominated for Best Soundtrack Album. 2023 saw multiple recognitions for this score, including Best Original Music in an Australian Short Film at Flickerfest, Best Original Score at St Kilda Film Festival, and Best Score (National) at Canberra Short Film Festival.

In 2024, James was named in IF Magazine’s Rising Talent list, and was nominated for the inaugural APRA AMCOS Screen Music Award for Emerging Screen Composer of the year, recognising his composition for award-winning films including Oi and Luna and the Brain Tuna. He was also one of 11 Australian composers commissioned by Musica Viva Australia to arrange one of Jess Hitchcock’s songs for a national tour in 2025 with Jess Hitchcock and the Penny String Quartet. This program toured nationally as part of Musica Viva Australia’s national concert season, and was also performed at the Perth and Adelaide Festivals, as well as at the Melbourne Recital Centre as part of NAIDOC Week.

In 2025, James was nominated again for Emerging Screen Composer at the APRA AMCOS Screen Music Awards, as well as for Best Music for a Short Film for the Bus Stop Films-produced short film Oil & Water, co-composed with Hamish Francis. James was also awarded Best Original Music at the Made in the West Festival for Oi in 2025, and composed the soundtrack to the AACTA-nominated short film Lincoln.

Contact James for more info.