Caleb Hearn is a Folk-Indie pop singer-songwriter from North Carolina who doesn’t shy away from getting vulnerable in his music. Since his debut in 2020, Caleb Hearn’s been an open book. From his beautiful songwriting to meticulous production, he is a talented artist who’s music makes you feel as if you having a conversation with him-all of his music a personal and honest sentiment to his fans and listeners.
Image Credit: Adam Rioux from Nettwerk
His new album, “Leave The World Behind“ is going to be released on February 20th, and he’s doing things differently this time around. His life has changed a lot since his last record, and, after looking back on his life and music on a retreat with his friends, Caleb curated an album that symbolizes looking forward: focusing on the future instead of dwelling on the past.
Caleb’s Missing Piece
Caleb began his music journey in high school for fun with one of his close friends.
“We weren’t really taking it super seriously, it was more for fun,” he remarked as he told me about his time. After finding this passion, time went by and he graduated and went off to college only to come to the realization that something was missing in his life, and he didn’t know what it was.
Eventually, he found out.
“Not being around music was the thing that I realized was making me feel like this,”
Once COVID-19 hit, Caleb had told me he felt out of place and exhausted from work. So, he took time off and started making and posting music himself for the first time. This changed the trajectory of his life and gave him a newfound purpose.
“Music helped me find myself again,”
He told me that as he continued to pursue music professionally, it became more of a ‘reckoning’, (as he described). He realized that music was something he was supposed to be doing as a job.
He told me he had a “solidifying moment” during this time that motivated him the most to keep going came when people started reacting and hearing the music, personalizing it with their own lives and experiences.
“It was almost like a missing piece of me that was filled immediately once I got back to music.” He said to me, smiling.
After finding himself again through music, he hasn’t stopped using his place as a musician as a positive light for his listeners. And, his growth is apparent through his artistry. When I asked him about the biggest way he believes he’s grown as an artist along with his music, he said that was by being engaged in the music industry. He kept working at his passions, and, by working with other people, his music got even better throughout time. His realization of his purpose for music is a sign that if you love something, keep at it.
“The more you do it, the better you get, the more confident you get, and the more things change.
Behind “Leave The World Behind”
“Leave The World Behind“ was written on a retreat Caleb had took alongside his friends- “to get our minds right” when it came to creating music. The trip consisted of a schedule of writing for 10 days straight, which, is daunting in theory given the fact that most artists need creative breaks- but, not to Caleb. To him, it didn’t even feel like work because he was surrounded by creative friends that motivated. This trip inspired him to be more creative each day than the last. He felt he’d grown on this trip because of the fact that he’d left behind so many distractions in pursuit of creativity.
The album’s title “Leave The World Behind“ got me thinking before i’d interviewed Caleb, and, I wanted to know what his motivations for naming the album something so thought-provoking. He told me honestly that the title came from a song he’d began writing before him and his friends knew what’d be called.
Image Credit: Adam Rioux from Nettwerk
“All we really knew about the album was that it was a perspective shift from anything we’ve written previously. Most of what we wrote was from the perspective of looking backwards and reflecting on my childhood or breakups or whatever it is and I think that with this album, we were like, ‘you know, my life has changed a lot: I got married, my life is very different now and most of everything in my life now is future.'”
“It’s looking forward” he told me. The album symbolizes the act of looking forward, leaving the ‘world‘- what I took as a mindset of being overly reflective on the past, behind. It’s a sentiment to focusing on the future over what had happened to him in the past; to being present over just being okay.
When asked about what the thought processes and mindset was when writing this album, he cooly explained me, “Just letting it all happen was the process.” Caleb continued to tell me he didn’t have a distinct plan in general for this album, and instead, let himself be open to realize where he was; being open to thinking, “where am I now?”. Doing this led to the album’s creation. By sitting with that idea instead of looking back as he’d done in his previous works, such as Left on Mckinley, where he remarked was “very reflective”-he was able to create a piece of art that symbolized something much bigger.
A Newfound Fun
When describing the album in 3 words, caleb told me:
1.Vulnerable
2.Hopeful
3.Fun
“This would be the first time i’d ever describe any of my music with this word [Fun]. A lot of my music is sad, or, really slow or whatever. Theres a lot of songs on this album that are pretty fun, upbeat, and lively.”
With looking forward, also, comes a transition into the into the happier side of his life reflected in this piece.
This album also displayed a shift in his creative personality. Sonically. This album took a more fun-filled approach that he hadn’t used before. He described the theme as “organic”. The entire album was recorded on a tape machine from the “70s or 80s” to give a more immersive, live vibe to it’s listeners as opposed to normal electronic synths he’d used in past music.
“We wanted to get that organicness while also keeping that freshness of new music and how new music sounds so polished today.”
Additionally, on the topic of fun- he had explained to me his favorite memory when being on the trip with all friends in the creation of this album. He explained to me in hillarious detail how him and his friends/collaborators had been hungry one night, so, they took a trip into town. Back at the cabin, someone had cooked eggs-and, his close friend and videographer Adam, who, had bought a 99 cent slingshot from town had started shooting hard boiled eggs at him and his friends. Adam also attempt to shoot one at Caleb, which, Caleb laughed when describing that the egg almost landed in his mouth.
The way Caleb described his retreat was one of passion, not just for creativity, but, for friendship as well. With creativity and a newfound fun at the center, “Leave The World Behind” was created with the intention of showcasing a new chapter in Caleb’s life.
Caleb’s Mental Health Journey Through The Lows of his life
Caleb’s music, even before this album, has carried a strong underlying emotional weight. Whether it’s visible or subtle, mental health themes are prominent throughout his discography. I asked Caleb about how making vulnerable music has changed his own approach to his mental health journey. He revealed to me that it’s not just about writing the music that’s improved his mental state, but, how other people receive it.
“writing music about what i’m feeling doesn’t make things better for me necessarily, I still struggle with and without it, but, the biggest difference is now because of it, that I feel heard.”
And that feeling of being heard, it meant everything to him.
“The most comforting thing of all is to feel heard. It’s the biggest thing when it comes to mental health,”
He explained that being heard can be the first step towards healing. He continued to relay it’s importance by telling that from his own experience, it allows you to come to the realization of your next step: getting help instead of sitting alone with all of your bottled up emotions.
The Big Takeaway from “Leave The World Behind” For his listeners.
It’s shaped him as not just an artist, but, as a person dealing with his own mental health to see how his fans have connected with his music. The public perception of his music and having fans resonate with his music reinforces the reason why he writes songs with such passion and vulnerability in the first place.
For Caleb, relaying his story and his life experiences is his central theme in his all of his music. But, he never wanted the goal of his music to be to make listeners feel isolated in thinking that his music represents only his story. He hopes listeners can find pieces of themselves in this music.
His biggest takeaway for the people listening to this album, he told me, is to feel like when they’re listening that their own stories and own lives can fall into this same narrative thats going in the album.
“I don’t want it to just feel like Caleb’s life. I want it to feel like ‘oh, thats me too’ in an authentic and personal way”
This balance between storytelling and open ended relation is what makes his music resonate with his fans. They may be his stories, but, his music creates a broad safe space for all those struggling to come together and feel a little less lonely in their experiences.
What’s Next for Caleb?
I asked Caleb what the title of this album, and, moreso, the album as a whole means to him now in retrospect as he gears up to release it to the world.
“Right now, the title to me means that theres just so many negative things-guilt, things i’ve dealt with growing up, now unpacked well, old relationship, parents divorce- things i’ve not been able to. Past two years been able to proccess. Now im at a place like now that’s happened, now, I have to move forward.”
For the past ten years, Caleb told me he hadn’t been able to look forward to much in his life because of his constant unpacking of past events. Now, theres excitement for this new chapter in his life. He had struggled with how long it took, and, when asked about any advice for his own fans and listeners that struggle with the same kind of obsession on the past, he explained that he struggled with how long it took him to overcome, and that having the time to heal is the most important when done in a healthy way.
“The most important thing to remind yourself its okay to take that time. We all have a different timeline on how long we take to take care of things. Give yourself some grace. If you try to rush or cut corners it’s gonna come back worse. I could have gotten over it 2 years, but, it took me 10 because I kept trying to shove it down. Face it head on, talk to people, get help.”
Keep Up With Caleb
As he steps into his new era, it’s clear that Caleb’s just getting started. Presave Caleb’s album, “Leave The World Behind” and stream when it comes out on Februrary 20th on Spotify, Amazon Music, Pandora, or, wherever you listen to music!
Image Credit: Adam Rioux from Nettwerk
Continuing, Caleb is having an album release show in Nashville, TN at the East Room on February 19th, and, told me that he’s very interested in possibly touring in the future-so, dont miss out! Follow Caleb on this new chapter of his life on his socials: Tiktok @calebhearnmusic, Instagram @calebhearnmusic, and, Youtube @calebhearnmusic.