Written, performed, recorded, mixed, and mastered by me.

Runtime: 46 minutes and 58 seconds.

For a list of influences as well as some BTS photos, click this link to view the presentation I gave for this project:

docs.google.com/presentation/d/1SZknkqW1AvNiOsklT50z-2MTXX4YLyCQyP5OVUDJu04/edit?usp=sharing

I have to give a huge shout out to my wonderful collaborators: Nico Fernandez (vocals), Yuxin Lu (production and piano), and PJ McCormick (bass). Thank you as well to Stephan Moore for teaching me sound production in the early stages last fall. Huge thanks to Alex Inglizian for teaching me advanced sound production this past winter and for being my mentor for this project. Lastly, I want to give a huge thank you to the entire cohort from this year, as well as all of the faculty that taught, nurtured, and inspired me on this journey. Even amidst a global pandemic, what a truly wonderful year this has been. Each of you has inspired me with your work and kindness, and all of your continual feedback and praise has filled me with so much confidence. I'll miss you all dearly.

Now, thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to listen to this project! I created this album as my year-long project ("Study in Sound") for Northwestern's "MA in Sound Arts and Industries," and I am absolutely thrilled with how it has turned out. I started out with virtually no experience working in professional recording environments, and over the course of *thirty two* visits to the campus studio - equaling about ~150 hours - I think I figured it out; this does mean that the songs gradually improved in quality over the six months, but I certainly won't tell you the order in which they were recorded lol. Once I was done in May, I spent many nights mixing and mastering (probably another 150 hours or so, but could've been 1000 for all I know...)

My last album, "My Slow Pace," was majorly inspired by acts like The 1975, and while I'm incredibly proud of that album as a whole, it is not really performable for me. What I mean is that the sonic environments are quite dense and the instrumentation is often far beyond my current capabilities in performance settings. With "The Youngest," I set out to make a performable album, something I could play with a band down the line or even perform simply on my own at an open-mic or something. Anyway, I really hope you enjoy it! I put literally everything I had into it (as my roommates can attest, as I basically didn't see them for two months at one point) and had the absolute time of my life throughout the process. Honestly, I'm sad it's over. Cheers!

As always...

Much love,

Jack