{"id":259697,"date":"2026-01-30T18:05:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T18:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/259697\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T18:05:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T18:05:12","slug":"alt-js-joe-newman-launches-solo-project-as-jjerome87-with-single-brush-me-like-a-horse-to-tell-the-story-of-a-man-slowly-turning-into-a-horse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/259697\/","title":{"rendered":"Alt-J’s Joe Newman launches solo project as JJerome87 with single ‘Brush Me Like A Horse’ to tell the “story of a man slowly turning into a horse”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alt-J<\/a> frontman Joe Newman has launched a solo project as JJerome87 \u2013 listen to his new single \u2018Brush Me Like A Horse\u2019 below.<\/p>\n

The musician\/singer-songwriter\u2019s first track under the alias serves as a preview of a forthcoming full-length album, details of which are yet to be confirmed. He has signed to Mushroom Music\/Virgin Music Group for the venture.<\/p>\n

In a statement, Newman described \u2018Brush Me Like A Horse\u2019 as \u201cthe story of a man slowly turning into a horse\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis metamorphosis has the world around him forgetting who he is as people begin to care for him more and more like a horse,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis song was inspired partly by something I\u2019d seen a friend go through. They didn\u2019t turn into a horse, but their reputation went through a metamorphosis.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bizarre single captures a vibey Californian sound with the energy of Motown, blues and gospel. However, fans will still find some of Alt-J\u2019s DNA and charm as Newman brings his distinctive vocal tone.<\/p>\n

\u201cThirty thousand horsepower, tied to both arms,\u201d he sings in the first verse. \u201cThey disappear and I writhe around like a downed pylon\/ Not to be trusted\/ Not to be trusted\/ Turn this ocean liner \u2019round towards that sun.\u201d<\/p>\n

The single was recorded in Los Angeles, California, with producer Carlos De La Garza (Paramore<\/a>,\u00a0The Linda Lindas<\/a>,\u00a0M83<\/a>,\u00a0Cold War Kids<\/a>). \u2018Brush Me Like A Horse\u2019 features a group of session musicians and a trio of female backing vocalists.<\/p>\n

JJerome87 will play his first-ever live show in LA soon, with details yet to be announced. He\u2019ll debut other tracks from his upcoming album, and be joined onstage by the same session musicians as on the recordings.<\/p>\n

Newman revealed plans for his \u201cAmericana, Motown [and] soul\u201d influenced debut solo album during an interview with NME in 2024<\/a>, when he confirmed that Alt-J would be \u201ctaking a break as a band\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m doing some solo work at the moment,\u201d he told us at the time. \u201cI went to LA and I\u2019ve been working with producer Carlos de la Garza. We\u2019ve spent some time together over the last couple of months and we\u2019re hashing out ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Newman added: \u201cIt\u2019s a really invigorating and new experience. I\u2019m absolutely loving it.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked about the sound and direction of the material, he responded: \u201cWhen I was younger, I was a big fan of soul music. The musical direction of this new album is Americana, Motown, soul, but then it does inevitably have that kind of odd Alt-J quirkiness; a doom-laden sound to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Mercury Prize<\/a> and Ivor Novello<\/a>-winning Alt-J released their fourth and latest full-length effort, \u2018The Dream\u2019<\/a>, in 2022. Around that time, they played some special shows to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their debut album, \u2018An Awesome Wave\u2019<\/a> \u2013 including a gig at London\u2019s O2 Academy Brixton<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, the trio spoke to NME about working with Soulwax and Wet Leg during an interview at Mad Cool 2022<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Alt-J frontman Joe Newman has launched a solo project as JJerome87 \u2013 listen to his new single \u2018Brush…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":259698,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[156,591,157,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-259697","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-indie","10":"tag-music","11":"tag-new-zealand","12":"tag-newzealand","13":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=259697"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259697\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/259698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}