Photo Credit: Tristan Lake Leabu

Continuing on a roadmap of musical self-discovery, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Alex Koford has unveiled his fully-charged single, “Chemicals And Purple Haze.” Produced by Widespread Panic’s Dave Schools, the track highlights Koford’s distinct gift at assembling and piping lyrics–qualities that first struck the lauded bassist and led to the pair-up. Today’s single arrives on the heels of Koford’s first self-produced, self-recorded, and self-mixed song release, “When I Rise,” and previous solo drops, “A Fabled Lullaby” and “Alive Sacred Creatures.”

Conjuring scenes infused with puffs of amethyst-shaded smoke, Koford lays it all on the table while shaking out feelings of self-doubt. “I thought I had all the answers/ Chemicals and purple haze/ Now I see it in the mirror/ The eyes that led me through the maze,” he sings. The resulting piece is a fixture of reassurance filtered through layers of heavy guitar that emulate a troubled landscape mimicked by instrumental builds. 

 “We recorded this track live as a trio. Me on guitar, Mike Pascale on bass, and Dan Luehring on drums. The vocal is from the live floor take,” explains Koford. “Dave is a great producer. He gives me just the right amount of space to explore my creativity but reins it in when needed. He’s become one of my dearest friends, I love him a lot.” 

“‘Chemicals and Purple Haze’ was a song that was recorded live at Prairie Sun Studio with his trio. We gussied it up and had Jason Reed mix the tune. I’m happy it’s seeing the light of day…and, as to be expected, Alex has plenty more to come. He’s a continually evolving artist,” Schools said. 

Piecing together their pre-studio history, Koford recalled, “Ross James and Scott Law had a band going called Cosmic Twang, and in 2018, I played a show in San Francisco with them. Dave played bass and Neal Casal was on guitar. I begged Ross to let my former band, Colonel & the Mermaids, open the show. Dave loved our set that night and offered to help in any way he could. We got to talking and shortly after that, he ended up taking me to Athens, Georgia, to record a few songs with record producer and engineer John Keane.” 

“I first became aware of Alex at a Cosmic Twang or some event at Terrapin Crossroads. He showed up onstage with the weirdest piece of percussion I’ve ever seen and was fantastic. But I didn’t really get to meet him until a bit later.” Upon establishing a repertoire with each other, Schools adds, “I knew from a mutual friend that Alex was out at Stinson Beach in Panoramic studio recording his music. I heard the tune ‘Outta Here’ and became really enthused with the vibe and Alex’s voice. So I asked him if I could hear the rest of the tunes and I was blown away by the songwriting and the spirit of the rest of the material. I had John Keane mix ‘Outta Here’ in Athens GA and Alex liked the way it came out. So we started working more closely.” 

“I want to live in a musical world somewhere between indie Americana and jam. I got indoctrinated into the Grateful Dead world through my time playing and learning that music from Phil Lesh, so I have a deep love and understanding of it. I’m certainly not trying to copy the Dead–and I think that’s clear in my writing–but I try to bring a little piece of what Phil has passed on to me in everything I do,” Koford asserts. 

Alex Koford is a Los Angeles-based musician known for his roles in Grateful Dead-adjacent projects, Grateful Shred and the Terrapin Family Band. “Chemicals and Purple Haze” represents his fourth single after “When I Rise,” “A Fabled Lullaby,” and “Alive (Sacred Creatures).”  Today’s release is the latest semblance of Koford’s personal introduction as a solo artist. 

For more information, visit alexkofordmusic.com.

Listen to “Chemicals and Purple Haze” now.