Colorado musician/philanthropist Jace Allen has released his long-awaited debut album, Taking Sides. Blending rock, funk, soul, country and pop in aa way that focuses on multiple perspectives of conflict and resolution, the album finds Allen reflecting on the various struggles he has faced internally and externally and finding healing along the way.
In addition to the album release, Allen shares track and video, “Hail Federate,” with all proceeds benefiting families impacted by the war in Ukraine via 1kproject.org. True to his philanthropic roots, all of Allen’s releases have focused on charity. Speaking to the inspiration for the track, and its charitable aspect, Allen explains, “I was sitting at home feeling helpless about Russia’s attempted takeover of Ukraine. I kept reading stories of the “every man” leaving his life to fight and feeling deep respect toward them. I pictured the Ukrainian farmer laying his plow on the ground, making sure his family is safe and taking up arms to fight and this song wrote itself almost immediately.”
“In no way do I think this song helps their plight,” adds Allen, “but my wife and I found a great organization that helps families in Ukraine.”
Taking Sides features a variety of collaborators including Payge Turner (The Voice, Season 19) and David Cremin, as well as featured players such as Divinity Roxx (Beyoncé), Dave Immerman (Avril Lavigne), JUNO (Bruno Mars, Camilla Cabello), Akie Bermiss (Lake Street Dive), Brad Hargreaves (Third Eye Blind), and more. The eclectic sound of this record strikingly bends genres and allows Allen to come into his own artistry.
“This album is the culmination of my first year of going back to music full time,” says Allen. “I chose not to edit and wrote whatever came to me. In the end, multiple genres came out of my brain, but ironically the songs all tied together lyrically. ‘Taking Sides’ is more than just the title track, as it’s a description. Each of the songs all talk about some sort of conflict and I think the album, as a whole, is a conflict between my different modes of songwriting. Perhaps the audience will tell me what genre they think I should focus on.”
With his debut album, Taking Sides, Jace Allen looks at conflicts within and around him to offer solace, solutions and ultimately bring attention and resources to meaningful causes in an effort to bring hope to the future. The ten track project is out everywhere now, and the latest single “Hail Federate” aims to aid families in the midst of war in Ukraine with proceeds benefiting The 1K Project. Learn more about the organization here, and connect with Jace Allen on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more.