Byline: Will Jones
Over the past several years, numerous obstacles have grown increasingly pronounced on the path to authentic human connection. New technological advancements have transformed the ways people interact with each other. Even as social media platforms offer to digitally connect people across the globe, enabling conversation at an unprecedented rate, critics argue that these sites are ultimately serving to further isolate individuals from one another.
It is into this unique world that Garrain is returning to music with his upcoming debut album, Songs in the Key of Truth. A riff on Stevie Wonder’s iconic Songs in the Key of Life, this new album from Garrain marks his return to the industry after leaving entertainment in 2009, where he performed under the stage name Steph Jones. In the years since, he found extraordinary success as the founder of multiple multi-million dollar companies, a bestselling author and a speaker on stages around the world. However, he had become increasingly dismayed by the ways in which people are failing to connect and communicate with one another meaningfully. To this end, his goals with Songs in the Key of Truth are to disrupt the future of music.
Garrain’s new album seeks to catalyze a cultural and spiritual renaissance in the music industry by introducing a new genre, rockin’ soul, that blends rhythm, authenticity, and transformational storytelling to restore human connection through sound frequency.
Returning to Musical Roots
In a return to his artistic roots, Garrain, the serial entrepreneur, global speaker, and best-selling author, is set to disrupt the music industry with a profound mission rooted in authenticity and human connection. After years of building multi-million dollar companies and guiding individuals through transformative healing, Garrain is channeling his hard-won wisdom and extraordinary life experiences into a new musical endeavor.
While he has had a past in the music industry before, being signed to Def Jam Records in the early 2000s under his stage name, Steph Jones, his return to music is a significant departure from his early career, driven by a renewed purpose to serve humanity.
His upcoming album, Songs in the Key of Truth, is an ambitious undertaking in every sense of the word.
He is striving to introduce a whole new genre, which he refers to as “rockin’ soul.” Garrain’s new work is a unique musical vibe that aspires to transcend traditional definitions to deliver raw, honest expression. Incorporating elements of soul, funk, rock, hip-hop, and beyond, Garrain is producing the entire album from start to finish.
Garrain’s Beginnings
Garrain’s journey throughout his life has been a tumultuous one. He went from a turbulent childhood, to homelessness and prison, to an entertainment career that nearly broke him, to becoming a hugely successful businessman and devoted husband and father of three. As a result of all of this, he has led a full and diverse lifestyle over the course of several decades, which has greatly informed his artistic process.
As a younger man, Garrain might have been content with writing and performing songs that chronicled his own trials and tribulations alone. However, having lived a full life and seeking to make the world a better place for his children as they grow up, his new project is directly taking on the growing sense of disconnection in the world and fostering a global frequency of unity and genuine human connection.
Early Days in the Music Industry
When he first set out to become an artist in the music industry, Garrain had no idea what he was getting himself into. He had an innate knack for writing, telling, and performing stories in the structure of songs that served him well within the industry, but ultimately led to his downfall. As he puts it, “I would create music so I could get women or to try to win a[n award] or to try to make a million dollars, instead of using this gift to serve humanity. I didn’t know that at the time.”
Feeling jaded and disappointed by his formative experiences as an artist, Garrain elected to leave the music industry behind. He wanted to learn more about the human experience and what people are suffering from because, as he says, that was ultimately his own story. “I was living in my car for two and a half years. I had been to prison. I had cheated on every girlfriend I ever had.” He believed that by learning more about the world, he could improve himself in the process. And ultimately, he did.
Garrain went on to become a devoted husband, father, and worker. Having gained perspective, he now felt prepared to be the change he wanted to see in the world. He became a coach and facilitator, leading healing and transformation retreats all over the world for highly accomplished individuals.
With the gift of hindsight, Garrain was able to look back and realize that he wasn’t actually ready for the music industry when he first started. He was still a young man, figuring out what kind of person he would be, not someone ready to share his stories with others. He also realized that he simply wasn’t fortified enough to endure the kinds of temptations and vices that are inherently so readily available to those who find massive success within the industry. As he says, “I had no idea how to protect myself, how to create a powerful group of spiritually inclined people around me.”
However, by finding success in other fields and at home, he ultimately learned invaluable lessons that he would go on to apply to his musical return. As he details, “You learn in business that you rise and fall by the health of the people around you and the health of your systems and structure. As an entrepreneur, I learned about business and leadership, including how to lead an organization of 75,000 people. However, I eventually returned to music and realized I wasn’t ready or meant to be in the industry at that time. It’s because I wasn’t meant to go through the machine that’s behind the industry. I was meant to create my own way.”
Authentic Expression Over Industry Standardization
Creating his own way is what Garrain is all about now. He critiques the modern music industry’s emphasis on chasing trends, preserving artificial aesthetics, and relying upon 440 Hz frequencies. He views modern music as something that has been extremely commodified, with song times growing shorter in the name of chasing viral success. In tandem with this, most music is now played at a 440 Hz frequency, which Garrain claims “disrupts the human spirit,” contrasting it with music that resonates more naturally and soulfully.
Inspired by personal transformation, his new music is not created for commercial gain but to serve humanity and promote unity.
Garrain says, “Less and less people are feeling connected. There is always fighting back and forth among people of all backgrounds, races, countries, and beliefs. I’m tired of the fighting. I want to learn. I want to grow from people. I want us to come together, and I think that what’s truly missing is the heart in humanity.”
Introduction of a New Genre: “Rockin’ Soul”
With his new album, Garrain aspires to speak to the needs of a new generation. From what he has seen, audiences want to feel something; they want to feel the passion, heart, and soul that is driving the music they are listening to.
With his new music, he says, “They’re going to feel something with the drums. I’m a drummer by nature, and I’ve been working in energy, frequency, and vibration for over a decade.”
Traditionally, soul music has been defined as music that comes from the soul; an authentic, genuine music that is so real, raw, and honest. To this end, Garrain argues that soul music is less a genre and more of a high level of artistic success. He argues, “That’s why I can hear soul music from classically trained pianists. I can hear soul music from George Michael, Stevie Wonder and Donnie Hathaway. I can tell when something is real and something’s fake.”
In this way, Garrain views soul music as the antithesis of everything he sees in the modern pop music landscape. When something is cookie-cutter and seeking to simply replicate a formula that has worked previously for other artists, Garrain feels as if the disconnect between the music and the audience is louder than the music itself. Conversely, when something is from the heart, he feels as if the audience intuitively feels it on a foundational level. With Songs in the Key of Truth, he is setting out to deliver something extremely soulful.
As he says, “In my music, every single thing is coming from the deepest place of truth in my heart and soul, and I just happen to be someone who also knows how to rock people through drums. I lead some of the biggest drum circles in Austin, Texas, with thousands of people. It’s so fun to see what can happen when people just hear the language of drumming with no other instruments. It activates this tribal aspect of humanity, of a remembering.”
Addressing Disconnection and Loneliness in Modern Society
Nikola Tesla once said, “If you want to know the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency, and vibration.”
To this end, Garrain views the frequency and vibration of music as essential elements to consider in terms of not only crafting songs that resonate, but also in how the music is distributed to listeners. “Do you know what has energy, frequency and vibration in it? Music. Do you know what else has energy, frequency and vibration in it? You and me and all of us. So you want to know the secret of the world? It’s you. That’s how powerful music is.”
As a result, his album’s mission is to re-emphasize the belief that human connection is the real currency, and that the energy in your body is worth more than any amount of money.
Narrative-Driven Songs With Cultural Impact
Each song on Songs in the Key of Truth serves a thematic and healing purpose within the context of the larger canvas of the album, and in terms of communicating Garrain’s larger artistic intent.
Some examples include:
“The Rhythm of Nature”
The first single off the upcoming album, “The Rhythm of Nature,” is all about when Garrain went from a poverty-stricken mindset to understanding how the abundance of nature works. This is one of the core principles that Garrain attempts to communicate through his teaching and coaching ventures, and he believes wholeheartedly in it, which is why he felt it appropriate to lead the album release cycle.
The origins of the song stem from a plane ride, in which he was feeling defeated and unworthy in relation to a situation that had happened at work. To pass the time, he began noodling around on a keyboard, and soon realized he had found a sound that seemed to capture the unique, bittersweet emotion he was feeling perfectly. He says, “I started playing more, and I literally healed that unworthiness just through creating music that was healing for myself. It was therapy for me.”
These early workshops soon became a fully fledged song, one that Garrain would go on to title “The Rhythm of Nature.” In order to adequately convey the meaning behind the song, Garrain set out to simplify the music and the lyrics. He wanted the song to be something that was easily accessible to audiences of all varieties while also encapsulating the unique, soulful sound of the album.
“Mama’s Resilience”
This track is a rare, nine-minute tribute to single mothers’ strength, transcending commercial song length to provide deep emotional space.
As Garrain details, “Typically, songs nowadays are getting shorter and shorter– as short as a minute and 30 seconds long. But in this song, I’m talking about my mama, someone who lost it all. Someone whose house burned down, and she had to send us to live with my grandmother to figure it out. Someone who had to have garage sales to put food on the table.”
As with all of the songs on the album, while the track speaks specifically to Garrain’s unique experiences, he has tailored the themes to be broadly applicable and to hopefully incite personal re-evaluation within the listener. He is talking about the resilience of his own mother, but he hopes that over the course of the nine-minute track, the audience is afforded enough inspiration and space to actively think for themselves, so that the song can actively encourage change beyond the borders of its runtime.
“Dungeon of the Free”
A rebel anthem for reclaiming autonomy, inspired by his personal journey through prison and awakening to true freedom. In writing the song, Garrain deliberately put the conflicting ideas of dungeon and freedom together in the hopes of more effectively illustrating his larger point.
Garrain feels that this song speaks directly to what he deeply believes humans actually want. You don’t need to fight for something you already have; you just need to know how to use the key to unlock the dungeon you don’t even know that you’re in. Thus, the chorus for the song is, “Many nights, I dream of a world that we could be, but we are hidden, locked away, thrown and tossed away with the key to free ourselves from a world we’ve been deceived. It’s ourselves we locked away, so unlock the dungeon of the free.”
Broader Cultural Commentary
Garrain’s return to music is a disruption of systemic norms in the industry and society. In a field that is increasingly driven not by passions but by algorithmic intakes, Garrain is bringing heart, soul, and meaning back to music in a big way. Building upon the stepping stones of musical giants who inspired him and seeking to communicate the life lessons he has garnered over the course of several decades’ worth of successful work outside of the industry, Songs in the Key of Truth sees Garrain returning to the musical forefront and seeking to incite meaningful change on every front.