Singled Out: JK Matthews' Young

04-21-2019

JK Matthews just released his "Young" EP and to celebrate we asked him to tell us about the title song for the effort. Here is the story:

"Young" is like the centerpiece of my debut EP that will be released this April. The song was written for an old high school friend. He and I used to skip class and take long drives out of the city. We never really had a destination in mind, we just picked a direction and drove. On those outings, we would always complain about the girls or teachers or whatever was stirring up our teenage angst. We'd make big plans for our future and would tell each other exactly where we'd want to end up as soon as we finished school.

After graduating high school, we went our separate ways and set out to achieve our previously established goals. Sure enough, plans changed, life got harder, and we grew up a bit. After some time, we met up for a coffee and decided to take one of those long drives again. This time, however, we weren't just complaining about curfews and crushes. Instead, we traded stories of student debt and job hunting. The theme of that conversation was "we had it so easy back then." We reminisced on our old career plans and laughed at our younger selves. We used to think that we had it all figured out but sure enough, we were wrong.

The conversation wasn't bitter, though. We weren't upset with where life had taken us. Yes, we weren't exactly where we wanted to be but we were okay with that. We understood that we still had a lot to figure out and that this was really only the beginning.

"Young" was written the same night of that that conversation. It only took one sitting but the song remained in my notebook for a couple years. When I finally got the opportunity record it, I ran with it. I knew exactly what I wanted to hear and knew exactly how to get the sounds I was hearing out of my head. Listening back now, it really hits the nostalgia button with me.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the EP right here!