EXCLUSIVE: Jon Waltz Premieres New Single & Announces Next EP

It’s been several months since we last heard new music from Memphis talent Jon Waltz, but now one of the most progressive up-and-comers from the south is back. We have linked up with Jon Waltz to announce his new EP Anna and premiere the project’s lead single, its title track. This new round of releases from Waltz is almost a year in the making, and has been meticulously planned from him and his camp since day one. When the subject of his new music is brought up, painstaking attention to detail and quality, a pop-leaning-yet-varied approach and all of the “toxicity, rush and glory” involved with frenzied, “chaotic” young love come to Jon Waltz and his camp’s collective mind. Every piece of the Anna puzzle comes from an organic, emotionally-attached place. Anna appears to be his most focused composition yet, and this is the release Waltz and co. expect to have the most impact. If there’s going to be one piece of music Jon Waltz listeners can connect to the strongest, it’s going to be Anna. You can listen to “Anna” above and check out our interview with Waltz below. Anna is set to arrive sometime in mid-November.
Why has there been such a long break in between releasing music?
I transferred schools about a year ago, like last semester. I moved back to Memphis, got caught up getting back in the swing of things and was hanging out with all my old friends and stuff. I started working on a new project and didn’t like the sound of it so I just kept developing everything until I got it to a point I wanted it to be at. I wanted to redefine everything I was doing
So you’re pretty satisfied with the sound you have now?
Yeah. I didn’t really intend for it to sound like this. A few months ago, I was like, “what do I want to do next?” I wanted to make an album for the kids who grew up in the 2000s.
With this new project, how would you describe it?
If you were born in the 90’s and grew up listening to Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, JoJo, Pharrell, people like that, it’s all those influences that a kid who was 10 in 2005 would see on MTV, all in an album. It’s kind of like a throwback.
Were those the influences that impacted you back then?
Yes, those were the people I always watched on TV and those were the people I kind of wanted to be like when I was younger.
With the debut single “Anna,” how does the song introduce this new sound and next project?
I think it [“Anna”] was the first time where we got that sound down to where we knew exactly what we wanted and how we were going to make it from this point on. I just think it’s the best song to represent what this project sounds like.
Describing “Anna,” if you had to break down the content and narrative of it, how would you describe this single?
It’s pop, but it’s not what people would expect from a pop song. It’s very genuine music, and it was just created by internet kids using iPhones to communicate with each other. It’s about moving back and having nothing be the same, but moving on from past relationships and accepting life.
And this next project is going to be an EP with a release of mid-November?
Yes.
Did you already plan what comes next?
Yeah I have already planned what I have next. When we started out, we kind of knew what the next EP would be, and we decided on two concrete names for this EP and the next EP. I’m not really sure on the title of the next EP, but this one’s Anna.