Justin Jay is back with another single release ahead of his forthcoming untitled album. The LA artist made a statement with his last release, "Stuck Inside My Head," with a totally new style that aims to show off his songwriting and singing skills – not just producing. In that single, he took a lo-fi approach to his new style, and now, with the drastic change a bit easier to swallow, he's released a follow up entitled "Time."
At first, "Time" might not seem appealing. It might feel too gritty and almost too much of a declarative statement from an otherwise notoriously comical and chill artist. But when you give "Time" the thing that it asks, it slowly nuzzles itself into its own appeal. By the end of this one, we are locked in with a more emotional understanding of Jay's music:
“When I was in 8th grade, I dropped by a music class to find some friends playing a cover of Reptillia by the Strokes. I thought it was the coolest thing ever and really wanted to join in but felt like I had nothing to bring to the table. I grew up playing classical piano and didn't feel like a Mozart Sonata had a place in their rock band. In a way, that belief led me to start making electronic music on the computer.
"Time" is a deep intersection between my love for making beats/sounds and my exploration of live music, jamming with my homies. So many parts of the song came about while Benny Bridges, Henry Was and I were hanging out, messing around, just having fun. When my bandmates and I get to perform "Time" live, I feel my inner-8th Grader realizing those childhood ambitions and it makes me really happy.”
Out today via Fantastic Voyage, you can stream "Time" above.