For Wales winger Daniel James, the right music is a vital tool in getting through the rigorous daily schedule of a professional footballer. “I often use music to help regulate or to set the tone for my mood around key moments in my week,” he tells Apple Music. “Each day in my week is sort of mapped out as a footballer. Generally, I have a good idea of the demand of each day, and my playlist and the artists I reach for lean into this—to help me match the requirements.” For this reason, James groups his tunes into three separate themes, each one providing moods and inspiration to fit the challenges and demands ahead. Here, he talks us through those categories and some of the songs that fill them. Charge Up “This is for pre-game/pre-hard training, and it will tend to be uptempo beats, and the lyrics will be super cocky. I suppose that’s a shared mentality with how I want to approach competition. Ego is an important element to pro sport, and although I’m not really that way off the pitch, on pitch I embrace it. This group would include artists like Gunna, Lil Baby, Kodak and Drake.” Reflect/Focus “On days that I don’t need to be so energised but still need to be honed in, I opt for a little more conscious, lyrical rap—artists such as Nipsey [Hussle] and J. Cole. I really like mike. for my recovery/down days—some of my favourites are ‘keep being you’ and ‘days go bye’.” Reminisce “The last group would be a pretty random assortment of artists and songs that take me back to specific moments throughout my life. They tend to be happy and bubbly—’80s jams, Natasha Bedingfield and Afrobeats.”