J. Hofstee’s blend of indie rock Americana and dark, layered compositions, serve as an immersive soundtrack to an exploration of a fragile mind. Weaving between walls of melancholy and intimate moments stripped to Hofstee and a single microphone, his debut ep “Devil on my Shoulder”, never wavers in connecting to the universal pains of the human heart. Borne out of Alpine, Ca, the tug and pull between a rural community on the cusp of city life is felt as the music beckons listeners to withdraw from the everyday and rediscover the self.

Hurricane

Devil

Angela

Nerve

Cold Coast

For Once

A little over a year ago me and my good friend, Brett Dawson, went out to a small town called, Cibola, in the Arizona desert in hopes of recording my next record. I had asked Brett to co-produce the record with me and once we started going through my songs he challenged me with many questions about each song and asked what my vision and purpose was for the record. These were big questions that I hadn’t really thought about before. I hit a bit of a wall and felt like I needed to start over. The week became more about me thinking about why I was recording this record and what my goals were with my music. Rather than recording, we did a lot of talking and I did a lot of thinking about myself and the person I am. It was a very emotional week for me and on the last day I woke up and wrote “Free”, I spent the whole day and worked through the night recording the majority of the song. It was the emotional release from a long but important week for me as a individual and artist. I hope you enjoy it and it inspires you to take a moment to think more deeply about who you are. .
Additional Song credits.
Engineer/ Synth Break: Brett Dawson
Background Vocals: Sequoia Steen
Drums: Michael Shannon
Drum engineer: Thomas Garcia
Mixing: Jerik Centeno
Home Video Audio: Mom & Dad