Armon Jay (lead guitarist of Dashboard Confessional) has just released his third solo album ‘The Dark Side Of Happiness’!
As hoped, the album has really connected with people on a deeper level – what more could you ask for? With plans to promote the album once we return to some form of normality, exciting things lie ahead!
We had a chat with Armon to discuss the writing/production process, and in particular how this is impacted by his anxiety.
When creating an album within a band the workload is spread more evenly to some extent, so going from that to creating an album on your own can really open your eyes to aspects you wouldn’t normally notice.
When discussing how the process differed from creating an album with Dashboard Confessional, Armon said: “It was definitely harder recording my own album. Just by default, with me being the one balancing engineering and performing the record on my own. But still really fun, nonetheless.
“I value having my solo efforts because it’s a space to really explore and create something personal. But on the other side… there’s something really special about creating something with a team and coming together on an album. “
A large part of Armon’s writing process is that he uses his anxiety to fuel his passion, making his music even more captivating.
Armon said: “I think It’s been a part of my writing all along. I’m just a little more aware of it these days. I will say though it’s not the centre of what makes me want to write and create. Just something I’ve learnt to use as a tool rather than a road block.
“I view making music as more of an open source medicine, rather than a coping mechanism. But you have two sides of that.
“I can hideaway in my studio when I don’t want to deal with real life or something stressful comes up, and that’s not really sustainable. But If I let it be a fluid thing and ease into creating.. I often find it gives me a sense of purpose and whatever negative thought, or stressful moment I might be having kind of fades away.
“Recording and making music can be insanely stressful too though. But It’s an easier thing to accept when it is.”
From this process, a beautifully unique album has emerged with a range of songs that all hit on different levels. For Armon, ‘Lighthouse’ is a particularly stand-out track, he said: “I wanted something that was swimming in strings. I didn’t want to hold back as far as that goes.
“And I had the idea of stacking interesting harmonies on the melody, but wanting the harmonies to be there the whole song. So It feels good knowing that the final was as close as it could be to how I heard it in my head and where I wanted it to go.”
As we all know, we are currently living in really strange and unpredictable times, nothing is as it once was. Creating music is such a group activity and one that thrives off of people coming together and sharing ideas, but this hasn’t been possible recently. This isolation and being so cut off from people not only effects your mental health but how you would typically work, meaning lots of adjustments have had to be made.
Armon said: “It’s been an interesting season. For me, it has caused some growing pains in some areas of my life. Slowing down so much comes with a lot of time to asses things.
“I’ve had some waves of ups and downs. But as far as being in my studio and working on projects, I’ve tried to stay pretty busy which helps a lot.”
Trying to stay busy is definitely something we can all relate to at the minute! We asked Armon what he likes to do in his spare time (aside from music of course!), so maybe next time you’re bored you can try your hand at these!
He said: “I love riding my bike. It’s always been a go to when I want to get out of my head. I also enjoy (for the most part) doing renovations with my house, and learning how to fix shit.
“I love watching sketch comedy too. Not so much stand up.. but more awkward comedy. I’m a legit fan of SNl’s Kyle Mooney and his older Good Neighbor videos with Beck Bennet. Really anything he does, I’m all for it.”
Armon’s new solo album ‘The Dark Side Of Happiness’ is out now, be sure to check it out!