Jason Kraack - Turn Around -

Veteran performer Jason Kraack set to drop timely album ‘Turn Around’ in December

GREENSBORO, NC – Sometimes the greatest art comes from times of great adversity. For Jason Kraack, 2020 has been one of the most adverse times of his life. Like many others who faced a job loss, Kraack wasn’t sure what to do with the uncertainty he was facing earlier in the year. Having taught music to college students for many years and performed in professional theater for more than 15 years, one of the things he’d always wanted to do was create an album of his own. So while 2020 was filled with anxiety, it also presented him with an opportunity to chase his dream. The end result is the 10-song album “Turn Around.”

With a sound that could be described as experimental in some ways, “Turn Around” features a unique blend of progressive sounds and classic styles that also take a cue from some of Kraack’s biggest influences from Billy Joel to Thom Yorke from Radiohead. All of the songs on the album were written, performed, recorded, mixed, mastered and produced by him, and feature a bevy of instruments all played by him – including piano, guitar, bass, drums, sequencing and more.

“It’s kind of like a journey through the last year that we all shared,” Kraack said of the album. “It starts out with a little bit of self-reflection and then goes down a rabbit hole of sadness and longing born from the fear of losing people you love and this kind of new reality in which we live. It can be pretty terrifying, scary and unsettling, and this album explores what we’re all dealing with and the fact that it’s necessary. We have to analyze ourselves during this time and get better in the process. The last track on the album is also called ‘Turn Around,’ and it’s a story about a time that all the sadness and frustration we’re feeling can just disappear if we change our point of view. It is meant to help people realize this.”

Kraack said the idea for the album is something that’s been rattling around in his brain for many years, but the true inspiration came organically while spending a month-and-a-half in Florida writing and recording.

“I had this mojo going before I left for Florida, but when I got there, it just fell flat,” he said. “I couldn’t get anything going and it was gray and shitty down there that day. I decided to go for a drive and eventually when I stopped and got out of my car, I turned around and saw something totally different. The sky was beautiful and I heard the song in my head in a flash. I hurried back to the studio and laid it down in an instant. It was like no other experience I’ve ever had, and the rest of the album flowed from that session.”

The debut single from the project is a song called “Turn/Burn It Down” which is currently available across all streaming platforms. It’s the third track on the album and features a funky groove with a catchy hook. Kraack said the lyrics are topical to what’s going on today and encourages people to take a step back from all the animosity.

“If we don’t turn down the heat that’s happening, we’re going to burn down this really fantastic, beautiful thing that we have,” he said. “We can’t continue to talk at each other. We have to talk to each other. I want to be able to make music that’s accessible to people in their individual lives, and at the end of the day, I hope I can be considered as an honest songwriter. I want people to listen to this album and hear stories that they can latch on and relate to.”

The second release, the second track from the album, is titled I’ll Pay and is about the frustration that can be felt before admitting fault. “No one wants it to be their own fault when things aren’t working out,” said Kraack, “but sometimes it is.” The song is currently available across all streaming platforms.

The third single release from the album and the title track, “Turn Around” is now available on streaming platforms.