Darin Jellison

Want a raw and honest slice of musicianship? You’ll get it Darin Jellison‘s freshly-released acoustic rendition of his tune, “Impostor.”

The new cut, an update on Jellison’s 2018 single of the same name, strips away the hauntingly electrifying layers of its cousin to create a forlorn mood fueled by self-doubt and second guessing. The new “Impostor” features nothing more than Jellison’s vocal and guitar, helping him tap into the pure emotion of the song as it was written, and bringing the original’s sense of loneliness into an entirely new light. - Underground Music Collective

This song is about the ups and downs of success. It literally started with my own fears around Impostor Syndrome, wondering how far I could go in life/work/music before it becomes obvious that I’m not as good as people seem to think. I can’t say I’ve had a hard life – I’m an Ivy-League-educated architect, from a stable and loving family. This song explores how, maybe, the more we accomplish, the more we might wonder when everyone is going to figure out that we don’t really deserve it. The song is in two parts – an angsty confession followed by a hopeful path forward.

After my debut album, “On A Lark,” I made lots of discoveries about what I love about music, and a big part of it is playing live. I’m looking for ways to write with more intention that way. I record these full arrangements with lots of instruments going, but I play as a solo artist without a band behind me, so I’m trying to make songs I can really crush live in a really stripped-down style.

Like so many independent artists these days, my studio is in my house. I’ve been messing around with Ableton Live for over a decade, and in the last few years have finally gotten to a place where I felt like I could really make something work.

I have this effects box I love, my VoiceLive 3 from TC Helicon, that I use live and it has become my sidekick and inspiration in the studio for guitar and vocal effects. I love that I’m still using the Ensoniq ESQ-1 I got in 1987 as a MIDI device, too.

Ah… the eternal challenge. I think as independent musicians we are always trying to balance a 3-pointed construct – work, music, and family. There can be a balance in that, but it’s also never perfect.

Graham Cochrane and Joe Gilder from the “Recording Revolution” and “Home Studio Corner” podcasts talk all the time about how to get past all the hesitation and just get your music out there. Get better by doing the work. In particular, it was a one-song-one-month challenge they talked about that ultimately led to the collection of songs that became my debut album.

From that I resolved to write, record, mix, master, and distribute one song per month for a year, and collected together with some bonus material it became “On A Lark.” Looking back it seems pretty unbelievable that I had all of that inside me and just needed the right set of goals to get it out.

I live in the Lehigh Valley, about an hour north of Philadelphia. The music scene here is always surprising me. There is a ton of talent here and a lot of history related to the folk music scene, but it’s really much more than that. It’s possible to catch live acts across the full spectrum of genres and styles here. Philadelphia, where I work and play out occasionally, is of course contributing at a high level to the national music scene, but it’s really amazing how much music there is, just 50 miles north, in the Lehigh Valley. - AVA Live Radio

Live Interview Thursday May 17 at 8 pm et:
Episode #590: A.V.A Live Radio Behind The Music with Jacqueline Jax

8 pm et: Shaun Doyle - Galway

8:20 pm et : Darin Jellison - Impostor - AVA Live Radio