THE ORIGIN STORY
PEOPLE FIRST. ALWAYS.
It started with a guitar at 14 and a steep learning curve that eventually clicked into an obsession. Growing up on Matchbox 20, Jet and the classic rock albums that shaped a generation, James Guido found his way into music the old fashioned way, falling completely in love with it.
The path from bedroom guitarist to record producer wasn't linear. A detour through DJing and electronic music led to a fascination with the sounds of Skrillex and Flume, but it was songwriting that ultimately pulled him in for good with his Artist project Obseen.
Not by design. A&Rs from major labels kept knocking, asking him to write and produce for their artists. Almost a decade later, that accidental career has taken him across continents, cultures and charts.
Today James writes with artists every single day, working out of Sydney, Los Angeles, China and London wherever the music takes him, including a studio in LA where some of the classic records he learned on as a kid were made. That history still energises him.
Along the way there have been ARIA Top 5 records, iTunes chart toppers across Europe and New Zealand, Grammy-nominated collaborations and Sony Music releases, but nothing prepared him for what happened when Someone To Love dropped in China.
THE PHILOSOPHY
The music industry has spent years chasing the algorithm and asking artists to become content creators. James believes that's the wrong direction entirely. The artists who endure, the ones who genuinely connect, have always had a crew of creatives around them. People who push them, hold space for them to be vulnerable, and help them build something that lasts.
AI is a great tool. But it will never create the human-to-human connection that happens in a room when a great song comes together. And why should it?"
This is how Obseen Productions works. Longer projects. Deeper collaboration. Music built for global impact, not the next upload cycle.
WHERE THE WORK TAKES US
FROM A STUDIO IN LA TO #1 IN CHINA.
James works out of a studio in Los Angeles where some of the classic records he grew up learning were made. That history still charges him creatively. It's also where the international writing camps and project development work happens, the coalface of everything Obseen is building.
That LA foundation is what made the Yan Haoxiang collaboration possible. Someone To Love debuted at #1 on 15 charts simultaneously, breaking all-time streaming records on QQ Music, the world's largest music platform.
Over 1 billion people heard it.
It connected because it was real. A world class artist, a world class song, a world class team. No shortcuts. No algorithm chasing. Just the work.
WHAT OBSEEN PRODUCTIONS IS
"Obseen Productions is a vehicle for artists who are ready to take their music global. Built on genuine connections, not just talented people, but warm, curious, enabling collaborators who hold space for every artist's vision.
Starting in Australia forced me to think expansively. The limitations of a market far from the centre of the industry made us adapt fast and build something that could plug directly into international markets. We did the hard work so our artists don't have to start from scratch.
If you're reading this, you already know what we do. You've heard the records. You've seen the impact. The question is whether you're ready to build something together."
Made possible by a tight crew of world class collaborators across songwriting, vocal production and live performance. The people around us are as carefully chosen and valued as the projects and artists we take on.