Jack's Road To New Beginnings

It’s been nearly one year since we last caught up with Jack Larsen and grew excited for what was to come. Since then, Jack finished his final semester of Columbia College’s Music Business program in December and began taking steps towards a career as an artist, realizing that “there’s really nothing else in my life that I want to do”. With his solidified decision to focus on music, Jack is re-introducing himself as an artist with a full project. He scratched the majority of his prior demos and began writing what would become his debut, Push-Ups.

Jack Larsen is an up-and-coming singer/songwriter from the Western Suburbs of Chicago (Saint Charles). After writing for most of his life, Jack began to take his musical interests seriously as he finished high school and prepared to move downtown to attend Columbia College. He began recording music in his bedroom and fostered collaborations online with artists like Indica, ryanjacob, and Kevin Abstract (Brockhampton). His music is personal, reflective, and filled with emotion. His style is closest to Indie-Pop, although he draws influences from all over and has created music of various genres. Jack spent a lot of time developing and understanding himself as an artist and now his hard work is beginning to pay off.

For Jack, the release of Push-Ups marks the turn of a new chapter in his life and in his musical career. As he experiences young adulthood, Push-Ups is a project to reflect this coming of age. Last year he lacked a sense of direction, but now Jack is more driven than ever and focused solely on his music. As he started working on the project during his final semester at Columbia, he created a marketing campaign in a class led by Closed Sessions’ Alex Fruchter. Alex grew impressed with Jack’s work as he shared snippets of the new project in his class, and they soon began to entertain the idea of Jack working with Closed Sessions. Jack represents another unique artist being added to their already diverse roster of hip-hop talent. They put the ink to paper at the end of April as they began gearing up for the release of Push-Ups.

Bright sounds and fresh melodies make Push-Ups the perfect music to enjoy throughout the summer, while the warmth of nostalgia tinged by melancholy make the EP worth revisiting over a long winter. The project is largely produced by Jack’s long-term collaborator Chris Hatam, with additional production from Jack himself, along with Alex Bent among others. The instrumentals provide a balance of dreamy guitars and lush piano/synths that are accompanied by a diverse complex of percussion. Take a listen to the last minute of ‘Break’ to truly understand just how far and unique Jack and his team are able to take his music production. His vocals are no different, and from layered harmonies to stand alone tracks, Jack’s vocals instill a rhythm that flows you through spacey soundscapes creating a world of its own. From childhood growth to evolving relationships and new beginnings, Jack’s lyrics describe a mix of memories brought to life.

The sense of growth parallels the stories told through his lyrics, and by the end of the EP we are humbled by the struggles of the past and strengthened with hope and optimism. Jack’s earlier promotion for the project ties into this theme, providing a visual element for the final seconds of Jack’s EP, the outro to "Angels". Here we can really understand Jack and put a human face to the whirl of relative experiences he just brought us through.

In the video, the vulnerability of his close-up shot is contrasted by a newfound sense of swagger and confidence while he dances around by himself. A smile begins to break in his face as the strings set in to close off the project on a high note. Things start to ramp up and then Jack throws out a triumphant double-punch to the air cheering his growth. Jack’s ability to instil this compassionate experience presents his true strengths as a songwriter and his longevity as an artist.

Now, Jack’s already working on new music and he’s also working on his live show, although no performances have been announced yet. He’s got plans to visit Roy Blair later next week in LA and one of his best collaborators, Chris Hatam, recently moved to Chicago so the two will certainly be working together frequently.  We are certainly excited for what’s next to come for Larsen, and we will definitely be jamming along to Push-Ups until then.