Germany-bound Pants puts on show at A Club

James Pants might just as well change his name to James Hosen.

For the former Spokane deejay and multi-instrumentalist, Germany has always treated him well.

So well that Pants, aka James Singleton, is moving there in two weeks.

“Germany is wicked. That’s the country in Europe I’d most like to live in,” Pants said during a telephone interview from his soon-to-be-former home in Colorado.

“Germany isn’t crazy expensive like England or France, the economy is strong and the taxes aren’t outrageous. I don’t speak (the language) at all, but we’ll  figure that out.”

Before Pants departs, he is coming back to Spokane to step into the future at a bon voyage New Year’s Eve Bash tonight at A Club, 406 1/2 W. Sprague Ave.

He’ll be spinning his signature genre-clashing collection of choice cuts on vinyl, much of which he is either selling or putting into storage before he, his wife, Kat, and 2-year-old daughter move to Germany.

“I’m selling my records, we’re selling the car. … We’re not bringing anything but clothes,” Pants said. “I had to do a show in Spokane before I split.”

From Germany, he’ll still be traveling around the world – places as near to him as Berlin or as far away as Nigeria – with plans to come back to the U.S. a couple of times per year.

But touring won’t be his sole source of income. His main gig will be working alongside DJ heavyweights such as Mark Ronson and J Electronica with Red Bull Music Academy, a traveling music workshop where participants hold music labs, give lectures, coordinate events, perform nightly concerts as opening acts for big-name acts in their respective genre, and take shifts DJing on the academy’s 24-7 radio station.

One of Pants’ upcoming concerts takes place in a 19th century prison in Australia where genres are divided by jail cells.

It sounds like a dream job for him. And during any downtime he’ll still tour around Europe and make records for indie powerhouse label Stones Throw Records.

“The nice thing about living in Germany is I can go a do a show in Norway and be home the next day,” Pants said.

His fifth album on Stones Throw, “Love Kraft,” will be released in March. Pants said it will be his poppiest yet.

“It’s real psyched-out, like 1970s Prince with live instruments,” he said. “It’s me playing all the instruments  – a lot of sax and guitar solos – but it’s all digital so it sounds like a fake band, which was kind of the goal.”