HAKEN’s vocalist ROSS JENNINGS has unveiled his epic second single as a solo artist ‘Grounded’ via Graphite Records. The song is the second single from his debut solo album “A Shadow of my Future Self” which is set to be released later this year, and sees him take a step into pop territory for the first time.
“Words We Can’t Unsay” features Ross Jennings on vocals and guitar, with Nathan Navarro (Devin Townsend) on Bass, Vikram Shankar (Redemption, Lux Terminus, Silent Skies) on Keyboards & Simen Sandnes (Arkentype) on drums plus special guests Norwegian brass sensations ‘Blasemafian’ also make an appearance. The song is mixed by Karim Sinno & mastered by Ermin Hamidovic (Haken, Plini) with artwork designed by longtime HAKEN collaborator BLACKLAKE.
Following the warmly received 80s influenced debut single ‘Words We Can’t Unsay’, Ross takes us into power ballad territory with a prog twist… “I was aiming for something along the lines of ‘Nothing Compares 2U’ meets ’Shine on you crazy diamond’ so that was intentional, but I feel like I was able to put my own stamp on it too.”
The single once again features Ross on guitar and vocals, Simen Sandnes (Drums), Nathan Navarro (Bass) and Vikram Shankar (Keys) who also arranged Ross’s orchestral ideas into a full score: “The string arrangement on this track is stunning and I have Vikram to thank for unpicking the themes I had in my brain and making them work in practice”
The single is accompanied by a visualizer created by Daniel Levy, who has recently worked on visuals for Transatlantic’s “The Absolute Universe”. Ross has the following to say of the video’s concept: “Grounded is a song about mindfulness, healing, and mental wellbeing. I wrote this song about a skeptic having a spiritual experience and opening up to the possibilities of a higher power or a higher purpose, but also someone who is simply reconnecting with nature and learning to find stillness in a chaotic life. This is a topic I’ve become fascinated with on my own spiritual journey and in my own meditative practices.”
In conjunction with his first single release, ROSS JENNINGS has also announced details of a Global Livestream event called ‘Acoustic Shadows’ which airs on July 23rd via Munin.live. Ross will perform acoustic renditions of songs from his forthcoming debut album “A Shadow of my Future Self” and much more including songs from other projects he is known for. Standard and VIP Tickets are on sale now from this location.
Ross adds about the event: “We’re in lockdown and I can’t meet up with my bands to perform, so I’ve decided to make a bold move, dust off that guitar and face a solo live gig head on, even if it is just to cameras! I haven’t performed solo like this since my days playing open mic nights in the local pub, but I know for sure this is going to be a wildly unique experience”
- UK & Europe Stream – Friday July 23rd at 8:00 PM BST / 9pm CEST.
- North / Central & South America Stream – Friday July 23rd at 6:00 PM PDT / 9:00 PM EDT.
- Australia, New Zealand & Asia Stream – Saturday July 24th at 8:00 PM AEST / 10:00 PM NZST / 7:00 PM JST & KST.
ROSS JENNINGS online: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok | Streaming Platforms
