Alt-J’s Joe Newman Explores New Sounds on Debut Solo Album The Canyon

*‘The Canyon’ album artwork. (Mushroom Music/Virgin Music Group)*

Alt-J frontman Joe Newman is set to release The Canyon, his debut album under the JJerome87 solo moniker, on Friday.

Newman said the project came together following the birth of his daughter, which influenced both his songwriting and his decision to record music outside of Alt-J.

“That kind of led to me thinking, I don’t think I’d like to get into a recording studio with the other members of the band, who are both dads, and just exclusively sing about my daughter,” Newman told ABC Audio. “So I was like, I think this might be a good time to do my own thing.”

As he wrote songs inspired by his daughter, Newman revisited the soul and blues music he grew up listening to, helping shape the sound of The Canyon.

“It was sounding different from Alt-J,” Newman said. “I knew that I had to go to America to lean into some of these sounds that were inspiring me, I think, and that I had listened to from a young age.”

Although the album takes a different musical direction from Alt-J, Newman wanted to retain one element he considers central to the band’s sound: vocal harmonies. As a result, The Canyon features backup singers throughout the record.

“I knew that when I was writing The Canyon I wanted to have a co-narrator in that sense on this record,” Newman said. “I wanted to walk through the album holding hands with someone else, and I knew that that would be singers.”

Newman also confirmed that his solo project does not mark the end of Alt-J, saying there are currently no plans for new music but adding, “There will be an album in the future.”

Content for this summary was derived from original reporting by ABC Audio, as featured on 105.7 The Point