Luna I (2026) – New Album Release
On January 31st, 2026 I will be releasing Luna I
First, I think it’s fair to say that Luna I is my boldest music creation to date. It takes chances mixing multiple genres and production approaches. It’s an evolution in production skills for my work: undeniably modern, yet still distinctly me. This is an album that I’ve been working on a long time now, since 2019’s The College Scores.
The College Scores was a sprawling 16-track encapsulation of my time spent at U-M scoring student films, working on small scale productions. At its core, it was an album very much about the sensation of sound; it had just two lyrical tracks, which were made for specific short films. It also definitively drifted me into the digital realm after spending most of my teens & 20’s making acoustic folk/rock/pop for live audiences. That drift was inevitable in my head, but difficult to pull off in real life. It took me awhile to develop the tools I needed.
When I first started on Luna I, my production skills just weren’t keeping pace with the digital ideas in my head. My musical concepts were evolving, but I hadn’t learned to ‘play’ the computer the same way as the guitar. So, I spent the next three years in a Berklee Master’s program learning how to better craft these sounds and sensations. After graduating, spending all that time under some of music’s greatest minds, I felt I finally had the tools and skills to bring out what I wanted with Luna I.
I also left with more confidence in my process. At Berklee, my creations went over very well; how they combined raw folk storytelling and the advanced production techniques we were learning. I received some once in a lifetime compliments from talented and famous musicians, alongside a truckload of incredible advice. While I will always remain a flagellant in art, Berklee showed me that what I was doing had real value, and to people I looked up to. So, I was ready, technically and spiritually, for the next showcase. I was ready to finish Luna I.
Incredible cover art courtesy of my talented friend Sarah Sisk. This is the second album cover she’s done for me after The College Scores
Luna I is, fundamentally, a space album. I think every young musical artist who hears Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd) carries a drive to create their own version of that ethereal soundscape. A space album has been quietly brewing on my bucket list for 20 years now.
For me it was both an academic and artistic pursuit. I immersed myself in the study of physics and astronomy; I visited the Kennedy Space Center with Mom, the Adler Planetarium with Dan, blasted Feynman’s audio lectures, read the great texts. Most physics graduates recognize this intro path I took; tripping out on science while pondering the infinite is the job of many undergrad scientists, a rite of passage.
I explore that idea of space through my genre lens, my understanding of pop, rock, hip-hop, & indie. ‘#Liftoff’ mixes big beats with grimy Marc Ribot style electric guitars, the type I’ve always loved working with for grit and midwestern honesty. Tracks like ‘SayItAnyway’, ‘Now That You’re Gone’, ‘ComeBackRound’ are all slamming rock songs at their heart, draped in genre, effects and interesting production choices.
Still, there is an underlying darkness to this album I could not disguise. Graduating into adult life. COVID and lockdown. Health issues. A difficult breakup. All of it plagued me throughout Luna I’s production. I lost Gram in 2023. Tracks like ‘Challenging’ and ‘Black Sun’ are evocative and visceral, heavy-handed metaphors for my emotional state. The album is soaked in an undeniable and pervasive lyrical irony as I’ve attempted to reconcile the world around me with what I believe about truth, justice, and fairness.
There’s a lot of pain in Luna I, but it’s not the only note, it’s just one of the sensations. For me, the album starts in a manic, energetic place until it collapses at ‘Challenging’ and we live in my depression for a couple tracks. By ‘The Long Drift Thru Space’ we’ve evened out. The modulation between minor and major melodies within the 7-minute symphony tells a story of hope emerging out of our numbness. ‘Quite Like Me’ and ‘Keyform’ then represent what Jerry emerges after the collapse, a new combination of my acoustic leanings and fancy production skills. Finally, ‘A Big Bang’ plays us out, serving as both a beginning and an ending.
Luna I is as much an album about melody as it is about musical texture, sensation and groove. Every little part has been considered, its place in the soundscape negotiated. Every blur of sound intentional, every twist and turn. That’s not to say it’s flawless! Far from it. I still have much to learn on this musical journey of mine, even after Berklee. But humbly: it is quite good, and quite close to what I intended. I hope these sounds, melodies, rhythms and textures move you in the same way they moved me while creating them.
My best,
Jerry
