Bewilderment – the feeling of being perplexed and confused – is the inspiration behind Pale Jay’s new album. It’s a soulful exploration of a family’s gradual disintegration due to years of avoidance and miscommunication. During this difficult time, Pale Jay began to question the stories he had always lived with and re-examined his identity. The resulting work, Bewilderment, is his first full-length album, which strives to find answers to these questions and more. The album is set to release on August 18th on Karma Chief Records, a subsidiary of Colemine.
Pale Jay is a trained jazz vocalist and pianist, and he wrote, recorded, and produced all songs on the album, except for ‘By The Lake’, which is a collaboration with labelmates Okonski – Steve Okonski, Aaron Frazer, and Michael Montgomery. Pale Jay’s music is influenced by a wide range of songwriters, including Labi Siffre, Carole King, and William Onyeabor. Bewilderment is a seamless blend of Pale Jay’s trademark dusty soul, slow disco, and Afrobeat, with string arrangements by Raven Bush adding an extra layer of magic to the beat-heavy productions.
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