February 9, 2024
Here we are, team. It’s been nearly 4 years since my last album, Dance Till We Die. The truth is, this is my third crack at this album. First, I wrote another whole album during the pandemic that sounded a lot like Dance Till We Die (the album, not the song)... too much like it, in fact. I didn’t feel that I was saying anything new, that my sound had evolved. I felt called to grow more before releasing more music into the world. As artists, we must continue to grow and change and find new inspiration, new parts of ourselves. If we don’t reinvent, we stagnate, and the art becomes stale. And so I went on a second journey to explore new sounds as a producer, and I entered into unfamiliar territory that was strange and stimulating, blending electronic, pop, rock, and urban palettes and filling in the lines with heady, zen-buddhist-leaning existential lyrics. This project was a friend and a balm that helped me wrestle with the uncertainty of the pandemic and all that came with it - live music changed and hasn’t been the same since, and my priorities changed before my eyes the closer I drew to turning 30 years old. I would end up scrapping this second try at an album as well.

It all came together in the end as a maximalist, expressionist audio manifesto - a solitary meditation during a rocky time that led me back to myself. It is also a hopeful celebration of life in all of its twists and turns. A production playground, there are countless little easter-eggs for those who like to listen intentionally with headphones. I love it, and I hope that you will, too.


The Story I Didn't Want To Tell

I wanted to be great. I wanted to be more than I was. I was challenged in this chapter. Challenged by workload, finances, time, and relationship - respectively, too much, not enough, really not enough, and differing timelines for marriage and kids with the lady I loved. Confusing. Is this what being a person is all about?

The relationship ended.

Writers block, insomnia, panic attacks.

I made changes, or the changes made me. I quit the startup that I co-founded, I paused shows, folded my personal business, I moved, I pared down. I faced my mental health. I sat with it. I was transforming.
Is this what being a person is all about?

I bid farewell to my 20’s and a beloved yet bygone identity. I began to write again - a manifesto called Saturn Return, written by Mr. Nobody.

It has 8 chapters:

1. Mr. Nobody ........................................................ An introduction.
2. Roll With The Punches ............. The valley of disillusionment, part 1.
3. Get It Right ............................ The valley of disillusionment, part 2.
4. One More ....................................................... A last goodbye.
5. Clouds .......................................................... The great illusion.
6. Miss Misfit.......................................... A meditation on letting go.
7. Save Me A Dance ................................................... A blessing.
8. The Ride ........................................................ A homecoming.

I hope this album brings you lightness, and/or good company as you walk through dim times and bright times alike. May you be happy, aligned, free, and present.

“
Nobody goes nowhere
Long way to go
Everyone gets lost on the crooked road to love Are you lonely?
What you’re holding - you can let it go. Everyone gets lost
As we walk each other home
“

I've never been more thrilled to be on this ride called life. Thank you for being on this journey with me.

Love, Dallas