Jon Swerens

Welp, it’s time to post an update on my next album, “Daylight,” which I began recording in earnest this week. I’ve already dropped one song, “Kiss the Word,” from the lineup, because it was by far the weakest of the bunch.

But most surprising has been two new songs that I began writing this week for the very purpose of filling what I could call “sonic gaps” on the album.

I’ve always felt the first two or three songs of an album should set “sonic boundaries.” In other words, those first couple of songs should somehow include enough of the variety that follows so that the listener can get a small clue as to the genre of the album.

My counter-example for good “sonic boundaries” is the otherwise excellent album “Drowning with Land in Sight” by one of my favorite bands to spring from the early ’80s: the 77s.

The first three songs on “Drowning” are Zeppelin-esque heavy rockers, and in my mind, they set you up for an entire album of Brit-guitar rock.

But then the fourth song takes a sonic left turn into a song heavily influenced by the Beach Boys, and it’s jarring to my ears. It’s a great song, but by this point in the album you don’t expect to go this far afield of what you’ve already heard.

So, for my own album, “Daylight,” I felt I needed a simple piano-vocal opener before getting to the next song, the fast-tempo-with-loud-drums “From Midnight to Daylight.” Thus, the bluesy “This Body of Death” was written for the album’s first slot. “Body of Death” plus “Midnight” pretty much sets up the listener for what kind of music will follow.

I also am writing a new song for the last slot, again a simple piano-vocal song called “When All Is Light.” It’s another song that falls within the album’s themes of light vs. darkness and life vs. death.

So then, here’s the new lineup for the album:

• This Body of Death
• From Midnight to Daylight
• Relentless Love
• Widow Moon
• Sunflower
• Hanging on His Word
• The Sins of the World
• Still Beautiful
• In the Morning
• Come to Me
• His Mercy Endures Forever
• When All Is Light

Thanks, and there will be more updates in a few days.

It’s time for another free download!

This time, I’m offering an early version of my song, “River.” The piano was recorded in my dining room on my Yamaha digital piano and with GarageBand software. The vocals were recorded at Tim Bushong’s studio in Syracuse, Ind.

Download the song here.

And please, share this link with anyone you think would enjoy the song. You can link to this post or you can use the form on the free page to submit a friend’s email address. I’d like to spread this song far and wide!

You can read the lyrics and listen to the song on the music page.

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Update: You can listen to the song now! Download later!

Update #2: You can download the song now.

Once I iron out a few technical issues, such as a tweak to php.ini and better  comprehension of a new WordPress plugin, I’ll be able to offer an early Christmas present!

The free Christmas song is an instrumental of “Thou Who Wast Rich Beyond All Splendor,” perhaps my favorite Christmas carol. It’s based on a 17th century French tune.

Look for it later today!

It’s been a while since I talked about my instrumental album, “Wordlessly,” and even longer since I’ve posted some audio from it to this site.

You can listen to five songs from the album here:

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Get more information on my store page or go buy it now in iTunes.