LET IN THE LIGHT

A nine-track studio album released on October 11th, 2024 to all streaming platforms as well as on vinyl and download cards

Work on this project began back in October of 2022 and it was born out of Jonah's desire to start creating a catalogue of original music that was both satisfying to play as a musician and enjoyable for the typical music lover. With this in mind, he chose to focus on vocal music for this project rather than instrumental. In close collaboration with Nashville-based songwriter and pianist Sam Herlihy, nine songs were written over nine months that eventually became Let in the Light. The co-writing process between these two involved Jonah coming up with a chord progression/soundscape and pitching an idea for a lyrical topic. Sam would then compose a corresponding melody and lyrics. After this, the two writers would pitch ideas and edits back and forth until the song was complete. This process created a very cohesive yet individual sound that is best described as jazz/folk. Jonah's background in bluegrass, jazz, and folk paired with Sam's background in pop, singer/songwriter, and soft rock helped form the unique world that this music presents.

At the conclusion of the writing process, Jonah was joined in the studio in July 2023 for a week of intense recording with an amazing team of friends and artists. This group included Nate Moody on guitars, Sam Herlihy on keyboards, Nathaniel Gilmore on drums and percussion, Rachel Kim on lead vocals, and Nathan Zwald engineering. In addition to this core group of musicians, special guests Joseph Henson on saxophones, Jon Werking on piano, Jens Krüger on banjo, and Scott Vestal on banjo appeared to elevate the project to the new heights. Most of the tracking was completed during the July 2023 session with the exception of vocals, the special guest appearances, and a few mandolin and guitar overdubs. After a couple overdub sessions the week following, all that remained was vocals and special guest tracking. After a long process of remote recording and coordinating the schedules of several touring musicians and professionals, all recording was completed by February of 2024.

It was at this point that the album began to be mixed and mastered by veteran sound engineer Nathan Zwald in Mathena Studios where it was recorded. In addition to delivering traditional stereo mixes for streaming platforms and vinyl distribution, Nathan also created a Dolby Atmos version of the project mixed in the brand new Dolby Atmos mixing room installed in Mathena Studios. The Dolby Atmos version of Let in the Light can be heard from Apple Music or Spotify when listening on a device that supports spatial audio such as Apple Airpods Pro or Max.

Let in the Light was released on all streaming platforms on October 11th, 2024. It is available for purchase on vinyl and download cards. For those unfamiliar with the download card concept, think of a gift card with a single-use scratch-off code that can be redeemed for a complete digital download of the WAV files that you own as the listener. Every purchase of a vinyl comes with a free download card, but download cards will also be available individually. If you are a fan of this project, please consider purchasing merchandise of some type to support the endeavor. You can do this by reaching out on the contact page of this site. It was funded completely out-of-pocket and released independently, so merchandise purchases are a huge way to show support and appreciation for a project of this scale. While streaming is helpful from a marketing standpoint, it unfortunately only generates a fraction of a penny for the artist per-stream. So if you are able, please consider showing your support of this project and the projects of other independent artists!

Jonah put out the following statement on social media to annouce the upcoming release of Let in the Light:

"It’s been a long time coming, but I couldn’t be more excited to announce that Let in the Light, a project I’ve been working on for the past two years, is going to be released on October 11!! Back in the fall of 2022, I wanted to begin creating a catalogue of original music that would be both satisfying to play as an instrumentalist while also being enjoyable for the typical music lover. To help with this, I got to co-write nine songs with the ridiculously talented lyricist and musician Sam Herlihy. This record would have been impossible without him, so please check him out!

In July of 2023 at Mathena Studios, I got together with some dear friends for a week, and we created this project. I want to thank Nate Gilmore, Nate Moody, Rachel Kim, Nathan Zwald, and Sam Herlihy for their artistic contributions and personal sacrifices throughout the entire process of making this album! I also have to thank the four special guests who appeared on this project: Joseph Henson, Jon Werking, Jens Krüger, and Scott Vestal. Each of these men have mentored me in one way or another, and it’s such an honor that they were willing to work with me on this.

Truthfully, I would have loved to have completed this project a long time ago and at times it has been a difficult, frustrating, and expensive process. However, it has given me such a sincere appreciation of all the unseen things that go into recorded music. I’ve played on albums before, written songs before, even produced an album before, but I have never gotten to experience bringing a project to life step by step from just an idea in my head to a completed record. So even though the music is a couple years old to me at this point, I know just how much love and intention was put into it by all of the talented people involved, and you will too once you hear it!" - Jonah

Below is a list of the full credits for the album:

Track list side A:

A1: Bruised (feat. Joseph Henson) 4:23 - written by Jonah Horton & Sam Herlihy

A2: American Dreams 5:57 - written by Jonah Horton & Sam Herlihy

A3: Let in the Light (feat. Jens Krüger) 4:01 - written by Jonah Horton & Sam Herlihy

A4: All in Vain 4:19 - written by Jonah Horton & Sam Herlihy

Track list side B:

B1: Breaking Through (feat. Joseph Henson) 4:00 - written by Jonah Horton & Sam Herlihy

B2: Holy Wars (feat. Jon Werking and Joseph Henson) 4:29 - written by Jonah Horton & Sam Herlihy

B3: Our Rebellion (feat. Scott Vestal) 5:07 - written by Jonah Horton & Sam Herlihy

B4: Love Leaves (feat. Joseph Henson) 5:23 - written by Jonah Horton & Sam Herlihy

B5: Smoke Signal Clouds 5:19 - written by Jonah Horton & Sam Herlihy

Jonah Horton

Producer
Arranger
Electric bass on tracks A1, A2, A4, B1, B2, B3, B4, B5
Upright bass on track A3
Electric mandolin on tracks A2, B3
Electric octave mandolin on tracks A3, A4
Acoustic mandolin on track A3
Acoustic octave mandolin on tracks A3, B3, B5
Percussion on tracks A3, B4

Sam Herlihy

Co-producer
Recording Engineer
Acoustic piano on tracks A2, A3, B5
Electric piano on tracks A1, A4, B1, B3, B4
Electric organ on track B2
Background vocals on track B5

Nate Moody

Co-producer
Electric guitar on tracks A1, A2, A4, B1, B2, B3, B5
Acoustic guitar on tracks A2, A3, B4

Rachel Kim

Recording engineer
Lead vocal on all tracks
Background vocals on track B5

Nathaniel Gilmore

Drum kit on tracks A1, A2, A4, B1, B2, B3, B4, B5
Percussion on track A3

Joseph Henson

Soprano saxophone on tracks A1, B4
Tenor saxophone on tracks A2, B1, B2

Jens Krüger

Banjo on track A3

Jon Werking

Acoustic piano on track B2

Scott Vestal

Banjo on track B3

Nathan Zwald

Recording engineer
Mixing and mastering engineer

Album art by Janie Tabick and Rachel Kim

Graphic design by Jamie Breiwick, B Side Graphics

Music transcription by Sarah Gates

Primarily recorded at Mathena Studios in Lynchburg, Virginia (2023)

Photography by Grant Plitt

A note from Jonah:

This project was born out of my desire to create a catalogue of original music that would be satisfying to play as an instrumentalist while also being accessible to the typical music lover. Thanks to the talent and dedication of the entire personnel team, this dream became a reality. This album would not have been possible without these amazing humans, and I am indebted to each of them for going above and beyond their obligations from day one. I would like to extend special thanks to Sam Herlihy, Nate Moody, Rebecca Hart, Sarah Gates, and Scot Buffington of Evans Amplifiers for their outstanding individual support of this project. I also would like to acknowledge the unwavering support of my parents, Mark and Laura Horton, and grandparents, Les and Marylin Fowler. I would not be where I am as a musician or individual without their guidance and sacrifices. Lastly, I would like to thank everyone who has supported me by purchasing, streaming, or attending a live performance of my music. My music career would not be possible without you, and it is my hope that this is just the beginning of the musical journeys we will embark on together. Soli Deo gloria.