Just as there is A.G. Cook, Danny L Harle, and Mk.gee, there is Jim-E Stack – another abbreviated-lettered variant of musical genius who has been producing and writing for your favourite artists for years.

Growing up in San Francisco, James Harmon Stack cut his teeth in garage rock basements and jazz rehearsal rooms. His early solo releases and high-profile remixes for artists such as Sky Ferreira and A$AP Rocky quickly established him as one of pop’s most forward-thinking producers. From there, Stack collaborated with a circuit of pop-culture favourites in their early careers: Charli xcx, HAIM and Gracie Abrams, to name a few.

Today, Stack’s experimental synths and textured sounds are everywhere; you’ll find him in the credits flitting between writing, producing, and various instrumental roles. Just as often, he appears in tagged Instagram studio dumps – usually with a worn Persian rug underfoot, a guitar nearby, and a cap pulled low over his curls. But don’t mistake his low-key presence for any hesitation. The producer is a pillar of the scene, his daring production choices pushing pop and indie projects into experimental territory where others hesitate to tread.

Aside making his own projects, like the self-released EPHEMERA, the producer recently worked on pop-savant Lorde’s release, Virgin – a collaboration Lorde described as “so all in, moving and inspiring it can’t be put into words” in an Instagram post. Here, Stack’s experimental production crystallises the album’s intimate lyrics, shaping them with sharp arrangements and emotionally charged synths. Stack has also just annouced his work on Hayley William's upcoming album, Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party and revealed himself to be working with The 1975 in an interview earlier this year.

Below, we look back at the times you may not have realised you were hearing the elevating production of Jim-E Stack.

CHARLI XCX – GIRL SO CONFUSING FEATURING LORDE

The first crack in Lorde’s four-year silence came with a verse on Charli xcx’s Brat, with “girl, so confusing” – a cutting song about friendship, rivalry and the industry. Behind the scenes, she was already deep into Virgin sessions with Stack. Lorde brought him the verse draft, and together they sharpened its edges. “It’s one of my favourite performances of hers, ever,” Stack later told GQ. “Seeing her come out at Coachella [to perform it], I almost cried. I can barely listen to that song; I don’t know why it fucks me up.”

CAROLINE POLACHEK – WELCOME TO MY ISLAND

Stack has been a long time collaborator of the ethereal Polachek, working on hits like “Door” and “Crude Drawing of an Angel”. As she welcomed us to her island, Jim E stack was already one of the residents, setting up camp alongside producers Daniel Nigro and Danny L Harle. The song went on to be further remixed into a club-ready house version featuring Charli xcx and George Daniel.

DOMINIC FIKE – ROCKET

Friends first and now “brothers for life”, the pair just wrapped their latest project together as Fike releases the album Rocket. A long-time collaborator, he also helped out on the artist’s previous album Sunburn. In a 2020 interview Stack told Billboard:

“I’m often, in a good way, uncomfortable when I’m trying to help him with stuff because I feel like I have no idea what I’m doing, trying to record guitars and make a rock song. That’s what I love about our relationships, he brings something different out of me that consistently yields the best songs.”

BON IVER – SABLE, FABLE

Bon Iver’s fifth album, SABLE, fABLE, released in April this year, features Jim-E Stack across its production, while Dijon and Mk.gee were also working their magic to shape the record. In what sounds like the loose plot of a Netflix Original, the standout track is “If Only I Could Wait,” featuring Danielle Haim, was made during a snowstorm-induced session at Justin Vernon’s April Base studio. It’s the stuff – and sound – of fairytales.

KACY HILL – IS IT SELFISH IF WE TALK ABOUT ME AGAIN

Stack has long collaborated with Kacy Hill – the pair once in a long-term relationship (we’ll skip the drama here). Their work spans Hill’s confessional Is It Selfish If We Talk About Me Again through 2024’s Bug. Hill also appears on Stack’s EPHEMERA record, lending her vocals to the track “Can We”.

AMINÉ – 13 MONTHS OF SUNSHINE

While Aminé may be going full unc mode, the hitmaker is still tapping into the freshest talent for production. Stack worked across 13 Months of Sunshine with a team of producers that included Louke Man and Buddy Ross, giving the record its experimental blend of genres. In a comment shared to Instagram, Aminé gushed, “Meeting u changed my life, Jimmy. Love u so much.”

LORDE – VIRGIN

OK, this one you might have seen coming: Jim-E Stack is Lorde’s creative counterpart on Virgin. Sharing studio shots of archaic sticky-noted boards and the (humble) shrine where the album was made, Stack captioned a heartfelt post: “Ella & I met and made some songs in 2022 before an album was on either of our minds. A year and a half later we had [an] album. There’s no one I’d rather be in the trenches with.”

Though Virgin is their first full project together, their partnership dates back to 2022, when he remixed “Silver Moon” and other tracks for the Night Vision leg of her Solar Power tour. He later called the glowing ballad “What Was That” “the kinda song I was put on earth to help make.”