Moonborn: A Concept Album Explained
Moonborn arose out of a need to understand myself. It was time to create my masterpiece, one that would find me at my most vulnerable.
Does anyone see the contradiction here?
I desired the greatest production, although I would play the role of producer.
I desired vulnerability and authenticity, although to me it was also a proving ground.
Does anyone else perceive the disaster I was setting myself up for?
The biggest lesson that I have learned through its completion is that I have TRUST ISSUES.
And yet, Moonborn satisfies these desires.
"Long ago, you and I created all that we now receive.
It was a time of great pursuit, from void to form
in preparation for this world, I am Moonborn, born off-world.
From a place beyond fear, I am not from around here."
These lyrics open the album. The character singing, is called X. He is a young part of my psyche, born on the moon, forever dreaming of his first trip to Earth.
He naively believes that his music will unite humanity.
I say naively because he is young, but secretly, I hope for his success. Covertly, I am more like him than I care to admit.
X was created to deal with my alienation, and the alienation that we all feel. The Earth is all around us, and yet, despite our experiences, we feel like strangers. This album tracks X in his naivety through success and failure on his journey to harmonize with life on Earth.
I was raised to believe that humans fight a war against "the world." That life on Earth teaches one thing, and that we are to be of a higher standard, constantly evolving. I love to evolve and grow, but this journey has brought to me the realization that FIGHTING cannot be my answer.
This is what X has taught me through the course of this album. Even the nastiest human experience on Earth cannot be fought. It must be HARMONIZED with.
Two songs on the album that are key in this realization are called "The Stone" and "The Void."
The Stone is about the human heart. Each human possesses passion, and that passion points toward a spiritual purpose. The Stone is that purpose, and it has been "thrown" into the Void.
I will stop here and declare that life is more than just "glorious purpose." Some of life's most beautiful subtlety and highly evolved joy transcends western ideas of meaning. X would want me to point this out, because as a youth, he fully appreciates the power of play, togetherness, and joy.
That being said, we each have a Stone in our hearts. And that Stone has been cast into the Void.
You are on a journey of self discovery that points you toward your Stone, your purpose. Many times, we don't even realize that this is happening. Your higher self conducts the orchestra of your life, and only over time can you begin to see the reasons for the journey.
The Void is chaos. It is life on Earth, not so much characterized by pain as it is by indifference. If the pain of our alienation were personal, it might be easier to deal with.
But everyone feels loneliness, and it is indirect in the way of its impartiality. This kind of pain makes life feel senseless. We are faced with countless variables whose sum are meaningless.
Yet, we are moved on toward new experiences. Having knowledge of self that creates the grace of purpose gives us something more than ourselves to strive for. But often, until we realize what is happening, we feel dragged, kicking and screaming, back into chaos over and over.
The Void is a source of fascination to me. When I wrote the song, I just came up with a meditative ballad. John Coupe (guitar) and James Andretti (bass) composed and recorded their parts, and vocals came quickly, and as I often do, I captured the idea with minimal editing or changes.
My Stone was guiding me. It was a leap of faith. You feel blind, even foolish. But X reassured me, this is what a child does playfully, and the Void can honor it.
The chorus of the Void says:
"Nothing's gonna stop
the way I feel
Nothing's gonna stop
this love I'm on
Nothing's gonna stop
the way I feel
no one who stares, or says it's wrong."
This is what chaos teaches. It's wild about us! Nothing is going to stop its love! Its unchanging indifference is actually a pruning fork to an evolving, changing being such as yourself. It causes your Stone to be reformed, bolstered by faith, strengthened by trial. Life is not a battle, but a harmonization.
X's innocence has taught me this. He's just a kid. But he thinks playing a show is fun, whether the crowd gets it or not! He loves expression for its own sake! Because for years, he was living in a tin can of a space station, waiting forever, to sing for all Earthlings!
It is my great joy and purpose to bring this album to the planet. In it, you will discover my POWER, through the unique spark of a boy who believes that music will change the world. May it be forever yours!
JDub
11 June 2023