I’m finally ready to share my first solo album.
It’s called Into Light, my singer-songwriter debut. Eight songs inspired by the last six years of my life and all the transitions that came with them.
Recovering from my illness. Finding my singing voice. Love, loss, breakups, and finding a home in Hawaii. Learning to express parts of myself that I had been afraid to share.
I’m really proud of this record. Before I release the songs individually over the coming months, I’m making the full album available for free early listening.
Learning to love my own voice
One of the defining moments behind this album happened in the summer of 2020.
I was going through chemotherapy and recovery, in the middle of COVID lockdown, when I participated in a small ayahuasca ceremony.
During the ceremony, I was brought to the center of the room for a healing. As people gathered around me, I felt something powerful happen. I was receiving their care, but I also felt myself giving something back to the people around me. My heart was pulsing out this energy I couldn’t explain.
Afterward, I was asked to sing a song.
For the first time in my life, I truly sang from my heart rather than from my throat.
It changed everything for me.
I became someone who really loves to sing rather than someone who was afraid to sing. I began to see my talent as a gift meant to be given, not something to conceal.
I sang more in ceremony, learning to love my own voice and the songwriting process. After years of playing bass in bands, I was writing songs for myself and discovering what I wanted to say.
The island is in these songs
So much of that discovery happened in Hawaii.
Songs came while I was on the beach, in the jungle, or up late at night. The island, its people, and its nature became part of what I was writing.
Some songs hold grief for friends I lost too early. Some reflect my own encounters with near death. Others came from falling in love, breakups, and the everyday experiences that stay with us.
Eventually, I recorded them here on the island. Produced by Keoni Thompson and me, Into Light brings together my voice and acoustic guitar, contributions from musicians I love, and sounds of the island.
These eight songs are some of the strongest I’ve written, and the ones I felt ready to put into the world.
I hope you make something, too
Sharing something this personal feels vulnerable.
With AI generating so much content and everyone’s attention pulled in a hundred directions, it can feel almost hopeless to put your own creative work out there.
But I still want to hear what people have to say. I want to hear the song that came from someone’s life, see what they made, and understand a little more about them through it.
That’s what I hope these songs offer.
And I hope they encourage you to pursue your own creativity. Music, writing, art, cooking, whatever form your expression takes. There’s so much of you in how you make something, and sharing it gives other people a chance to connect with that part of you.
This album is something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. It feels like a gift I’ve been given, and I’m grateful to finally share it.
Hear Into Light before its public release
Get free early access to the full album.
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Over the coming months, I’ll release the songs individually on Spotify and other streaming platforms, with more videos and stories behind the music.
Listening is free. If you feel moved to support the record, optional contributions are welcome by card or Venmo.
What’s something of your own you’ve been wanting to create?