On March 12, DU student James Reed will release his first album. “Wings and the Theory of Flight” may be Reed’s opening record, but it is far from his musical debut. 

“During spring break of junior year, I thought [to myself], ‘I have these dreams of making music, and I have to make that first step,’” said Reed. “It’s a tough step to take, to put your music out there and have people hear it, but it was something I needed to do.”

In the spring of 2020, James Reed began working under the musical name “Facing Sanity.”

“There are two reasons for the name [Facing Sanity], [and] the first one is not that deep,” joked Reed. “I liked it because it has six letters on each side. The other reason came to me during isolation. The whole idea of quarantine is that everyone is going insane and everyone is losing their sanity. For me, it was tough, and music was the only way I could face my sanity.”

Facing Sanity released his first song “Summertime” on March 26. In just a month, it reached over 40,000 plays on Spotify. 

“I don’t know how it happened,” beamed Reed. “But it was really nice to see that people were enjoying my music. After that, I began working on ‘Galaxy,’ which is still my most successful track. After ‘Galaxy,’ people started reaching out to me on Instagram.”

James recalls numerous kind messages from listeners who felt his music helped them through harsh times. Their kind words and messages of thanks acted as a driving force for Reed.

“It really motivated me,” affirmed Reed. “I realized I wasn’t making music for myself, I was making it for other people. I’ve even received a few comments from people in the music industry. RiFF RAFF was the first, and he sent me a meme of my song ‘Galaxy.’ It was a caveman with his hands over the song and it said ‘rare picture of man discovering fire.’”

With his newfound determination, Reed began producing more music. He started to collaborate with other musicians including R&B/Soul artist Brilly Asher, DU student Julia Rahr and accounting major Michael Suekama.

“[Asher] has been really supportive,” expressed Reed. “We released a remix of one of my songs, we collabed on his newest album, and we made two other songs called ‘EX2C’ and ‘lLOV3.’”

With this explosion of new music, he developed various writing styles and methods to keep up with the demand. 

“My most common process is thinking about a theme in my head whether it’s a relationship, the galaxy or anything,” said Reed. “My other style is just free-styling. I really like creating music that is off the top of the head, just raw and unfiltered emotion.”

Reed’s staple is the message of his music. He is dedicated to creating real and positive songs that those who are struggling can relate to. 

“I don’t really care about money,” declared Reed. “I want to help people with my music, so I tackle taboo themes [like] emotions and depression. I want to help people who are going through a tough time. I want to show them that they aren’t alone.” 

His debut album “Wings and the Theory of Flight” is meant to carry this thesis. He uses a mix of darker and lighter songs to create a balance that portrays life as he sees it. 

“The idea behind the title is that you have to learn how to fly through tough times,” said Reed. “It’s about learning how to fly through the darkness. That’s sort of the theme throughout the album. While there may be some darker tracks with the positive ones, they fit together. It’s like Yin and Yang, you need to have some bad with the good.”

While his new album is not out, it is already playing in New Zealand. A local radio station within the country has already picked it up. 

“I cold-called this radio station in New Zealand, and they actually got back to me,” marveled Reed. “They said they were interested in playing my track, and they wanted the go-ahead to start. It’s honestly a really great feeling.”

For those who don’t live in New Zealand, “Wings and the Theory of Flight” is available on March 12 on Spotify under Facing Sanity. You can also check out his YouTube channel for a preview.