Today, we’re taking the limelight to singer-songwriter Jay Putty, whose latest EP, Mountains and Valleys, marks his most emotionally raw and cinematic release to date. Known for his anthemic choruses and heartfelt lyricism, this artist invites listeners into a deeply personal exploration of love, loss, and the quiet moments where memory lingers. One idea that resonates throughout the project is “grief is just love persisting,” which shaping the project as both intimate and universal. Born in small-town Indiana and now rooted in Nashville, Tennessee, Putty draws from real-life events, from losing loved ones to surviving a house fire, to create songs that strike the core of the human experience. This new EP takes the listener through a journey of healing, accompanied by a nostalgic short film that captures unspoken grief. For On The Record, we talk with Jay Putty about making peace with pain, finding light in the everyday and what’s next for an artist who sings straight from the heart.
Welcome to Unrecorded! For those who aren’t already familiar with Jay Putty, can you introduce yourself?
I am a 6’2. Blonde haired (fake), blue eyed nerd with an obsession with Fortnite and a fear of heights. Except on roller coasters.
Your new EP, Mountains and Valleys, feels both deeply intimate and sonically expansive. What did you set out to express musically with this EP that you hadn’t in previous projects?
I wanted it to feel connected. From start to finish like a coming of age film almost. Explore the depths of myself while still sonically being digestible for people.
How do you balance emotional vulnerability with that big, cinematic sound?
Lots and I mean lots of whoas. Its fun, cathartic, but also sometimes like in life you just need to yell!
You powerfully reframe grief as “love persisting”, how did that idea shape the narrative arc of the EP?
The idea comes from just the thought that when you love someone. However much you loved them is the same size hole they leave when they pass. That narrative of up and down. Big feelings. Quiet cries. Is what the record is about.
Did working on this project help you process your own experience of loss?
Absolutely. I think I’m always a work in progress really. Grief is a work in progress. I lost big parts of my life. Incredible people. I will never be 100% okay again. And that’s okay. I’m grateful I have people in my life that are worth carrying around in my grief for the rest of my life. It helped me process it more by allowing me to still tell myself its okay to get sad still. That this is a wound that will never heal.
The short film accompanying the EP uses VHS-style visuals and a cityscape setting. What inspired that aesthetic, and what do you hope viewers take from it?
I wanted people to get a look through my life now and then. And how that grief takes shape over time. The memories. The future memories that won’t be made. I hope they see the film and see the “monotony” and understand that the new normal after grief is something that feels so monochrome is okay. And you’re allowed to be upset that it even exists.
Was there a specific moment or memory that served as the emotional core for the visual narrative?
I was listening to old voicemails of my dad one day thinking to myself. If I could prepare myself for life after my dad. What would I say? What could I do? Is any word or action enough? Or do I just brace for impact.
You’ve moved from small-town Indiana to Nashville, do you think that geographical shift has also influenced your sound?
Oh 1000%, do not let this long hair fool you. It doesn’t hide this redneck. I tell everyone I am the child of ½ new yorker, and ½ redneck. I embrace a lot of nashville. The mandolin. The banjo. But also because its so trad Irish like my grandmother. My family. My roots. It allows me to connect with my dad’s heritage of backwoods down home country. And my mom’s of emerald isle being a proud Irish family.
What do you hope that listeners will take away from listening to this EP?
Hope. Understanding. Optimism. Speculation. And resolution that some questions in life won’t have answers.
What’s next on the horizon for Jay Putty?
There are 2 words that I tell myself are the subject of this year. Great. Undeniable. I have just released M&V’s but I have a live EP I released in April. I have a cover of Centerfield for July 4th. I have 8 songs for the next record ready to go. And I plan on hitting the road so I can scream cry and jump in some faces. All in the pursuit of making art that is great. And undeniable.
You can also find lead single ‘Mountains’ in our Folk This Way playlist.
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