Man of theWorld
Travels enrich latest album from Michigan’s Jake Allen
Jake Allen is certainly comfortable at home near Gaylord, and is, at heart, a Michigander.
But his just-released new album “Affirmation Day” is a product and evena chronicle of his journey to becoming a man of the world.
The shimmering, sonically textured 12-song set was inspired by the 31-yearold multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader’s travels around the planet, mostly as an ambassador for his sponsor, Takamine Guitars. He wrote the songswhile hunkered down in at the Uzupio Art Incubator in Vilnius, Lithuania, bringing them back to Michigan to record
It’s a significant step in what’s already been an ambitious career and adds to the templateAllenhas been following throughout.
“It’s kind of this little diamond that came out of all this experience I’ve had over the last two years of traveling around and having all these new relationships — kind of seeing the world through a bigger lens, you could say,” Allen explains by phone from his home. “There were a lot of new experiences that came into this — on the technical side of recording, too. There was a lot of experimentation, trying new recording techniques — the nerdy end of it.
“I feel like every record I make is going to be my most ambitious — so far. I always aim to make the best albumI’ve evermade. I don’t think I’ll ever feel differently.”
Allen certainly has a wealth of experience that’s taken him to this point. Raised in Grayling, both of his parents are musicians (his mother moved into real estate) and Allen started playing when he was young. “My dad had a home studio when I was