Into a cinematic world of fantastical vignettes and deep, simple humanity; dusty, Motown-influenced Americana and a curious, British mind comes The Canyon: the debut solo album from British songwriter and musician Joe Newman, frontman of the critically acclaimed Mercury Prize and Ivor Novello-winning band alt-J, released under his solo moniker JJerome87.

Announced today for release on 26 June via Mushroom Mushroom Music / Virgin Music Group, the album was recorded in Los Angeles with producer Carlos de la Garza, alongside a group of the best session musicians in the city and a trio of female backing vocalists.

It features debut single 'Brush Me Like A Horse’, as well as today’s new release, ‘Track and Field’ - a journey into the collegiate world of athletics, set against sparkling, heavenly melodies. Tune in now, and watch the official video via the links below:

WATCH: JJerome87 - ‘Track and Field’: https://youtu.be/5irRXygfyLo?si=VC3P_v_1aHPg6Zvi 

“I wrote Track and Field quickly. I see this song as an early ‘90s American montage that focuses on two college kids falling for each other on a college athletics track. The name ‘Lamorna’ I chose to honour my friend’s dog, who ran off a cliff. Other notable bits of trivia include nods to Gerry Rafferty’s Right Down The Line; the first song on a long list of songs I wish I had written and the triple-take line at the start of the song was inspired by Patrick Stewart’s 2013 viral video in which he performs the quadruple take. Track and Field is a song to sing along to in a car going somewhere nice… a beach, or through a tunnel in a helicopter, Mission Impossible style. Enjoy.” - Joe Newman

With alt-J - who, across four albums, have topped the UK charts and entered the Billboard Top Five, earning multiple Grammy and Brit nominations and amassing billions of streams - Newman became part of one of the past decade’s most successful bands. Where the specific alchemy of alt-J has always been rooted in the unlikely confluence of three different tastes, Newman’s current project is an exercise in showing new sides of himself - digging back to the influences that have energised him since his childhood, and weaving them into experiences taken from the most transformative time in his life to date.

“Traditionally after finishing an album, I’m creatively a bit depleted so I’ll take a break. But after [2022’s] ‘The Dream’ I didn’t stop writing, and I started formulating a lot of ideas that were very personal: things I was experiencing as a first time dad, and the core memories of my partner giving birth,” Newman explains. “I was beginning to realise this might be a good time for me to take a leap of faith and write something outside the circle of alt-J.” - Joe Newman

Newman’s daughter was born in 2021. It’s her who is peeking over the corner of the musician’s shoulder in the artwork for The Canyon - rendered by artist Sally Dunne, and full of clues as to what’s inside. There’s the white house in the corner where Matt Damon and Ben Affleck wrote the script for Good Will Hunting - a local landmark near the studio where the album was recorded. There are the coyotes that Newman encountered on a 5am drive one morning. The Canyon itself is a nod to one of the regular haunts that they’d visit during recording, Echo Park’s famous Canyon Coffee.

Across The Canyon, Newman weaves strange and sublime stories, turning everyday moments into something cinematic and unforgettable. The record unfolds like a collection of musical short stories — brief, vivid snapshots where fact and fiction blur. It’s an intimate, adventurous album from a songwriter stepping confidently into a new chapter of his life, with his daughter by his side and the coyotes of Echo Park keeping watch over the musical landscape he’s created.

The Canyon is now available for pre-order on cream, orange and black vinyl via the Mushroom Music store.

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