press kit

about the artist

Genre: Folk/Country

Hometown: San Francisco Bay Area

Influences: Towns Van Zandt, Waylon Jennings, Gram Parsons, Gillian Welch

Sounds Like: Son Volt, Cowboy Junkies

bio

Jacob Aranda is a Bay Area singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and luthier.  His new album “War Planes,” is out September 1, 2023 on Speakeasy Studios SFrecords. Born and raised in a Latino household in rural Illinois, the culture of his upbringing and the necessary resourcefulness of rural living birthed in Jacob an artistic desire to express himself through music.  While his first album, “Great Highway,” released in 2018, was an expression of hopelessness and longing, “War Planes”  is fundamentally an album about healing intergenerational trauma and doing so through art. This ethereal, psychedelic country album feels like a next chapter, with elements of rebirth and reflection. Produced and engineered by Desmond Shea (Tarnation, The Court and Spark) at SF’s legendary Hyde Street Studios, it features the talents of friends and Tarnation bandmates, Paula Frazer (bass, vocals), David Cuetter (pedal steel), Sam Berman (drums), Patrick Main (piano, vocals), and Meryl Theo Press (vocals). Also joining the sessions were musicians Alisa Rose (violins), Jason Loeks (upright bass), and singers Karina Denike (Dance Hall Crashers), Michael James Tapscott, Lydia Walker, and Sara Gallagher (banjo, vocals).

PRESS

“A poised crooner, Aranda combines the yearning spirit of Roy Orbison and the cosmic grace of Gram Parsons, calmly bearing witness however painful the subject matter.”- No Depression review here

“He has this mournful, whiskey-soaked baritone that coats your ears like the sweetest honey. It’s then paired with warbling steel guitar, warm organ swells, and sumptuous background vocals. Standouts like the title track, “Dream of Mexico,” and “Strangers in a Field” provide delicious psychedelic American vibes in the vein of Tom Waits, Gram Parsons, and Gary Murray. All told, Aranda has created the perfect atmosphere for a quiet night sitting on a back porch swing watching the sun dip below the horizon.”- Bearded Gentlemen review here

“Aranda’s low, sonorous voice, lifted by haunting backing vocals, is really engaging, drifting over gorgeously-textured musical layers.”- AmericanaUK- review here

"Jacob Aranda is a Bay Area musician so accomplished that it’s hard to believe his 2018 album Great Highway is also his debut."-The Z Review full review

“In Aranda, Northern California has its own contemporary master of country song form, and “Half Life” offers reflective candor behind the strong, wry exterior.”- I Luv Mondays BFF.fm here

Contact Jacob at JacobArandaMusic@gmail.com