HOW STRANGE
"How Strange" is an album about time. Compared to my other albums, it fittingly took the longest to make - yet feels the most inherently tied to where my heart is at this very moment. It's both a labor of love and a product of fear. It acts as a therapeutic release and an existential crisis. Since I began working on it in 2018, it has taken many forms, but has always been driven by the haunting truth that time won't ever stop passing - no matter how much I wish it did.
The title of the album comes from a poem by Cuban Poet Fina Garcia Marruz named “Ya Yo Tambien Estoy Entre Los Otros.”
The line “how strange it seems, doesn’t it?” speaks to the shift within us as time passes - how we perceive ourselves and those we love. That’s what the album is about - how time’s passing changes our relationship with ourselves and our loved ones.
Exerpt:
“Now I too am among the others,
the adults, the melancholy ones,
and how strange it seems,
doesn’t it?”
Recorded throughout the country (Brooklyn, LA, Boston, Miami, Coral Springs), I wanted to create a cohesive narrative while expressing it through diverse musical styles. I dedicate this album to my family, my partner, and my friends. I love all of you, and I'll never stop being scared to lose you.
HOW STRANGE Album Credits
Executive Producer: Joao Gonzalez
Engineers: Adam Straus, Anna Malee, Itai Shapira, Joao Gonzalez
Mixing Engineers: Adam Straus, Joao Gonzalez
Mastering Engineer: Anna Malee
1. POOL STEPS
Written by: Joao Gonzalez, Joshua Karpeh
Produced by: Joao Gonzalez
Drums Engineered by: Anna Malee
Vocals - Joao Gonzalez
Guitar - Joao Gonzalez
Rhodes - Joao Gonzalez
Bass - Joao Gonzalez
Drums - Eric Derwallis
2. FRAUD
Written by: Joao Gonzalez
Produced by: Joao Gonzalez
Drums Engineered by: Anna Malee
Vocal Production by: Anna Malee
Vocals - Joao Gonzalez
Guitar - Joao Gonzalez, Adam Straus
Rhodes - Joao Gonzalez
Bass - Joao Gonzalez
Drums - Eric Derwallis
Synths - Joao Gonzalez
3. PRUDENCE & POISE
Written by: Joao Gonzalez
Produced by: Joao Gonzalez
Drums Engineered by: Anna Malee
Vocals - Joao Gonzalez
Guitar - Joao Gonzalez
Rhodes - Joao Gonzalez
Bass - Joao Gonzalez
Drums - Eric Derwallis
Piano - Joao Gonzalez
4. TERRIFIED OF TIME
Written by: Joao Gonzalez, Joshua Karpeh, Tiffany Giardina
Produced by: Joao Gonzalez, Joshua Karpeh
Arranged by: Joshua Karpeh, Joao Gonzalez
Featuring: Cautious Clay
Vocal Production by: Anna Malee
Vocals - Joao Gonzalez, Joshua Karpeh, Tiffany Giardina
Guitar - Joao Gonzalez, Adam Straus
Rhodes - Joao Gonzalez
Bass - Adam Straus, Joao Gonzalez
Piano - Joao Gonzalez
Cello - Adam Straus
Drum Programming - Joshua Karpeh, Joao Gonzalez
5. HALF YOUR SIZE
Written by: Joao Gonzalez
Produced by: Joao Gonzalez
Engineered by: Ross Mayfield, Joao Gonzalez
Vocal Production by: Anna Malee
Vocals - Joao Gonzalez, Cheryl Chow
Guitar - Chris Kyle, Joao Gonzalez
Rhodes - Joao Gonzalez
Bass - Joao Gonzalez
6. RUST
Written by: Joao Gonzalez
Produced by: Joao Gonzalez
Drums Engineered by: Eric Derwallis
Vocals - Joao Gonzalez
Guitar - Joao Gonzalez
Bass - Joao Gonzalez
Drums - Eric Derwallis
Synths - Joao Gonzalez
7. CYCLONES DON’T DANCE
Written by: Joao Gonzalez
Produced by: Joao Gonzalez
Vocal Production by: Anna Malee
Vocals - Joao Gonzalez
Guitar - Joao Gonzalez
Rhodes - Joao Gonzalez
Bass - Joao Gonzalez
Drum Programming - Joao Gonzalez
Synths - Joao Gonzalez
8. CONFIDENCE
Written by: Joao Gonzalez, Alex Szotak
Produced by: Joao Gonzalez, Alex Szotak
Engineered by: Itai Shapira
Vocals - Joao Gonzalez, Alex Szotak
Guitar - Joao Gonzalez, Alex Szotak, Adam Straus
Wurly - Joao Gonzalez
Bass -
Drums - Eric Derwallis
9. RING TRUE
Written by: Joao Gonzalez
Produced by: Joao Gonzalez
Vocal Production by: Anna Malee
Vocals - Joao Gonzalez
Guitar - Joao Gonzalez
Piano - Joao Gonzalez
Bass - Joao Gonzalez
10. GENTLE ROAM
Written by: Joao Gonzalez
Produced by: Joao Gonzalez
Vocals - Joao Gonzalez, Parker Mulherin
Guitar - Joao Gonzalez
Piano - Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Bass - Alex Szotak
Drum Programming - Joao Gonzalez
Flugel Horn - Ryan Tullock