Throughout 2022, I managed to record and produce a myriad of musical ideas in the midst of completing my studies and performing as a guerilla solo jazz pianist in Cape Town. One airless night, I started working on XKX, and for several days afterwards was held hostage by a creative manic in my studio flat. I didn’t dare go out or break the spell until I had found the rest of the pieces to the puzzle. Even when my eyes were shut - I saw visuals and patterns of the song elements in the dark. People were trying to have normal conversations with me - about the weather or the trending Netflix series, and all I was thinking about was the distortion I was going to use on the guitars. This totally captivating sonic journey with XKX opened the door to the possibility that I could create an album, which is why that song gets thanks as the opening track.

This year, I travelled back home to small-town Knysna to compose and assemble an album that channelled my journey into the unknown. I like to think of the unknown as a pendulum which is affected by its external environment, tasting the outer reaches, but then coming back to its core every time. Similarly, an artist’s musical voyage is influenced by outer experiences which are internalized or rejected, subtly altering the direction and range of the music within. The Grand Pendulum embodies this concept in a 9-track expedition of unorthodox instrumentation and soundscapes which find their home in an otherworldly and stereophonically psychedelic place.