By Sean Alexander
The following is an interview with Jason Singer, frontman of the band Michigander
What have been some highlights, of the past year that you've had with your music and touring with different people, meeting different people, performing different places?
I got to play Bonnaroo this year, that was special. And then I finished up my debut album, which we're gonna put out sooner than later. I'm very, very excited about that.
What can you tell me about the album?
It's 12 songs. It'll be out early next year. It's something I've worked, my whole life towards. I've only done EPs and singles, so this is, the first full body of work that I've done. It's a little nerve-wracking, but it's also, exciting to finally have that many songs out all at once that sound cohesive and that I'm really proud of. I wrote 50 songs for the record and had to narrow it down to 12. Some choices were harder than others. But I am just really, really excited that it's finally gonna be out in the world and finally a chance for people to hear a new chapter of what I've been doing.
So you said you had to whittle it down from 50 to 12. What does that process look like for you? What do you do with all those other songs that you've written?
Some of the choices are easy because they're just not that great, And some of those choices are hard because they might be a good song or a great song, but it doesn't fit the overall theme and vibe of the record. I don't know if those songs will ever see the light of day, but they exist. Maybe there'll be something someday.
It's kinda weird because you spend so much time writing all these songs and you work hard on them and you put all your time in. At the end of the day, many of them don't come out. And I think that's kinda cool though. Kinda weird though. I need to weed through them and pick the best things that will create the best body of work. That's what I try to do.
How would you describe this body of work that's going into the album?
It's not, entirely different than what I've done, and it's not entirely different than anything that's ever been done. But it feels fresh, and it feels new, at least for me. It's really exciting, I got to write all the sounds and record all the sounds in Nashville.
I've been able to, work very hard on it, and there wasn't a timeline of, we need to get it done by this day or whatever. It was just, that we needed to get it done. It was supposed to come out earlier, but we decided to push it. Just to make sure it was perfect. I'm hoping, hoping it comes off that way. Relatively perfect, yeah.
This is the first time where I was like, we can work today, we can work tomorrow. We don't have to work on Friday. We can come back to it months later and dial it in. That was exciting because, you could hear things that you liked or didn't like, and you could either build on that or break them down and try them a new way. That helped build, a cohesive sound that I'm looking forward to folks hearing as a whole body of work.
Is that why you relocated to Nashville?
Not entirely. It's definitely one of the attractive things of being here. Most people here are doing music, and it's cool to be around people that are inspiring and, kind of challenge you to grow. It's a very welcoming, creative, and collaborative city for musicians. So after spending time here, I was like, oh, maybe I should just live there. I am so thankful that I did it. I wish I would have done it sooner. It's nice to be in a music city.
It's the first time you've done the recording in Nashville. Where were you recording before?
Most of my stuff I recorded in Michigan. In a small town outside of Ann Arbor called Adrian. Then the most recent EP I got to record in LA. And that was really cool. All of these locations have always been destination recording spots in one way or another.
Let’s chat about your recent single “Giving Up”
That song was one of the last songs I wrote for the record. I went away to a little cabin in hopes of writing some songs, and that was the only one I wrote. I was excited about it. It was the most, natural… Just throw paint at the wall, see if something sticks, and see what we can make. That song just feels really, personal and, my own. I wrote it all by myself and that feels really cool because I haven't always done it that way. To do it that way feels reassuring.
It seems like the response to it has been really solid too. People have seemed to like it a lot.
Michigander’s first Album will be released on February 7th, 2025.
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