I'm excited to announce the release of my new album, Depth of Field on April 4, 2025. This is my first album in several years, and I’m excited to share it with you. Remember to stream the album and let me know your thoughts!
Since my last album, I’ve continued to write music, but this collection of pieces feels different—more deliberate, more connected. Depth of Field is built around ideas that come from film and photography, but at its core, it’s an exploration of contrast: movement and stillness, clarity and blur, brightness and shadow.
Each piece in this album has its own character, but together they form a gradual shift in tone—starting with energy and warmth before settling into something more contemplative. Like a series of film scenes, the tracks unfold, sometimes with sharp definition, sometimes in soft focus.
1. Bokeh
Named after the photographic effect that renders out-of-focus points of light as soft, Bokeh has a clear rhythmic drive and simple, clean melodic lines. The piece has a kind of forward motion that feels natural—settled but not static, bright but not overpowering. It begins the album with a sense of openness, like looking through a lens that gently draws attention to something just beyond reach.
2. Chiaroscuro
In painting and photography, chiaroscuro refers to the contrast between light and dark. This piece plays with that idea musically, moving between a rhythmic undercurrent and a melody that unfolds in an almost searching way. A simple refrain emerges, but it’s always preceded by very different musical ideas. Before the final refrain is a dramatic build up. I'm particularly partial to this piece and consider it my favorite of the album—though it might be a toss up with the final track.
3. En Douceur
Taken from the phrase Filmé en douceur (filmed softly), this piece moves with an easy, unhurried feel. It’s relaxed, warm, and has the kind of atmosphere that reminds me of a slow breeze on a summer afternoon. There’s no urgency here—just a sense of presence, of letting things unfold at their own pace.
4. Luminant
This piece begins with a nod to Debussy’s Arabesque but quickly moves in its own direction. The melody becomes more defined, building toward something bigger before settling again. There’s a sense of expansion in this track, as if a single idea is gradually opening up into something fuller before retreating, like light stretching across a landscape before fading.
5. To the Horizon
This piece feels like driving west—heading toward something vast and unknown. The movement is steady, and there’s an openness to the melody that suggests long roads, shifting skies, and the quiet feeling of being somewhere in between.
6. Refraction
About half way through, this track seems to shift meters, but it doesn’t—it only feels that way. The patterns change just enough to disorient the listener’s sense of pulse, creating a kind of illusion. Like light bending through water, the music seems to move differently depending on how you hear it.
7. Silver Screen
This is one of the more melancholy pieces on the album. I have this idea about it of someone who always wanted to be a big movie star but never quite made it—like a kid growing up in the 50's who wanted to be like John Wayne. I really love the Allison Krauss tune You're Just a Country Boy, and to me this piece carries that bittersweet feeling—the weight of longing and that sadness for what might have been.
8. Silent Frame
Like a still image that captures an entire narrative, this piece tells its story without words.. It lingers, letting moments settle before moving forward. It’s a quiet ending to the album—one that leaves space for reflection, much like the final frame of a film before the screen fades to black.
Depth of Field is an album about perspective—about the way music, like images, can shift in focus, bringing some things into sharp clarity while letting others blur into the background. Each track has its own space, but together, they form a kind of journey. I don’t know if these pieces will create the same images or emotions for others as they do for me, but that’s part of the mystery and enjoyment of music. Once it’s out in the world, it takes on a life of its own.
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