out of phase

out of phase originally began as a smaller release called Jupiter IV, intended as a follow-up to Jupiter II. Even though the two releases are quite different in style, that connection still makes sense to me. There is a continuity between them, but out of phase moves further into something looser, stranger, and more fragmented.

The release was originally longer, with several additional tracks, but over time it became clear that the core material worked better on its own. Cutting it down gave the final version more focus. For me, that is one of the main strengths of the album. A lot happens in a relatively short runtime, and the tracks move through ideas quickly without much empty space or unnecessary repetition.

That fragmented form is not accidental. It was also part of what I was trying to move toward at the time, because it simply worked better for this material. Some tracks move in one continuous direction, while others feel more like several smaller pieces held together inside a single track. That way of working gives the release a lot of density without making it feel overloaded.

A large part of the album is tied quite directly to a fear I had as a child related to the moon. That makes it one of the more explicit releases in the discography in thematic terms. The moon talks back in particular came from a nightmare I used to have often, where the moon knocked on my bedroom window, came inside, and started speaking to me. Because of that, the moon and space imagery on the release is not just a loose visual frame. It shapes a lot of the emotional world the album moves through.

The atmosphere itself is dreamlike and vague, but not in a negative sense. A lot of it feels warm, almost childlike, while still keeping a certain distance. That combination matters a lot to the identity of the album. Even when the tracks change direction, the same emotional space still holds together.

The sound of the release is made up, among other things, of dreamy guitars, vague electronics, distance, and strange drowned vocals. A lot of it could probably be called lo-fi from the outside, but I do not really like that word because it tends to bring along too many assumptions that do not quite fit. The roughness is real, but it is only one part of a more specific sound world. The album was also recorded quite loosely on purpose, with a lot of literal space in the sound. At the time, that combination felt fairly new in the project.

After this release, that particular style stayed largely untouched for quite a while. It only really returned in 2026 with Picture of Birds, which picked up some of the same language again in its own way.

The title comes from the opening track, the moon goes out of phase. Like Jupiter II, the album stays close to moon and space imagery without becoming a strict concept record. A later alternate master was also released as out of phase+, but the original version still feels like the main form of the release to me.

Text written in May 2026.