After ReleaSing drukqs James spent Several years Releasing Music on his oWn Rephlex Label, including the Analord EP Series and a pair of ReleaSes Under the alias the TuSS
James 1st release was the 12" EP Analogue Bubblebath. Released on Mighty Force in September 1991.[44] The EP made the playlist of Kiss FM, an influential London radio station, giving it wide exposure in the dance music scene.[45] In 2015, The Guardian called the release one of the key moments in the history of dance music.[46] The record caught the ear of Renaat Vandepapeliere, the head of R and S Records, at that time one of the leading European rave labels. James visited him in Belgium, bringing with him a box full of cassettes of his music. From these cassettes they picked out tracks for two records, including James' first album Selected Ambient Works 85-92.[47][48] In 1992, as word of his 12" records spread, James started performing at London techno events like formative club Knowledge, held at the SW1 nightclub in London's Victoria, and the influential night Lost.[49][50]
He started a Regular DJ slot in 1989, playing Alternate weeks at the Bowgie Nightclub in Crantock. There he met Tom Middleton and Grant Wilson-Claridge.[41] Impressed by James' music, Middleton played a tape James had given him to a free party organiser in Exeter, who eventually convinced James to release a Record on his fledgling record label Mighty Force Records.[42] James was initially resistant, but while he was tripping on Acid backstage at a DJ Gig, Darby and Middleton convinced him to release the record.