Lidell is known for layering tracks made with his voice into a microphone and performing the percussion and melody as a sequenced, beatboxingone-man band. Then over his augmented voices, he sings soul-inspired songs. This exercise makes for energetic live performances. Lidell has become renowned for his diverse range of genre-exploration. Following the release of his 2008 album, Jim, Lidell commented,
I want it to be about music, I think every musician does. But I think inevitably it ends up becoming about personality, which is what gives rise to the music, so peoplewant to make sure that they get a bit of both. The more things do well, the more people want to know why it does well.
His song "Multiply" was used on the television show Grey's Anatomy, and was also included on its second soundtrack. Another song from his album Multiply, "A Little Bit More", was featured in a series of commercials for the U.S. retailer Target. He often collaborates with Canadian musicians such as Gonzales, Feist and Mocky. In 2009 he collaborated with British electronic duo Simian Mobile Disco for the song "Off the Map". In 2006, he was part of a live performance collaboration with David Link and F. M. Einheit, which was released on CD as Echohce. In 2001, he provided vocals for the Lo Fidelity Allstars track "Deep Ellum...Hold On", from their CD Don't Be Afraid of Love. In early 2009, Lidell's Jim won in the 8th Annual Independent Music Awards for Best Pop/Rock Album. In 2009, he contributed a cover of Grizzly Bear's song "Little Brother" to the Warp20 compilation, as well as having his song "A Little Bit More" covered by Tim Exile. In March 2010, Lidell announced that he was releasing a new album entitled Compass which was produced by fellow musician and occasional collaborator Beck. The album was released in May 2010. The title track is featured in the Rockstar video game Red Dead Redemption. Lidell was the co-writer and vocalist for the Simian Mobile Disco track "Put Your Hands Together", from their 2012 album Unpatterns. On 18 February 2013, Lidell released his self-titled album Jamie Lidell to critical acclaim. It saw him return to his live one-man show set up. He was also featured in Atom™'s track "I Love U " featured on his album HD. In February 2015, Lidell was featured on Big Data's song "Clean", also featured in Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 as soundtrack. Jamie's seventh studio albumBuilding a Beginning was released on 14 October 2016 featuring the lead single "Walk Right Back".
Personal life
Lidell married his long-term girlfriend, Lindsey Rome, in the summer of 2012 in Nashville. Their son, Julian, was born in November 2015.
