Jason Walker was taken under the wing of famed DJ and record producer Junior Vasquez almost immefiately upon his arrival in New York, and together they produced 2006's This Is My Life, a debut album which so captivated the listening public that it went on to achieve three consecutive #1 Billboard hits - and, in doing so, confirmed Jason Walker as one of only a handful of young male artists capable of breaking through to a global dance audience.
Those songs of life and love, delivered in an octave well above any other male artist in pop music, proved conclusively that the small-scale and specific can strike a universal chord. Everywhere and ever since, fans have been hungry for more. And now, at last, a successor, Flexible is complete.
“I titled the album Flexible because I felt it was an appropriate way to show people that I am a flexible artist,” explained Walker. “I wanted to prove that I was able to sing many different styles of music. There's something for everyone on this record: dance, big-room, pop, electro, and soul.”
Flexible deals with matters of the heart, specifically the end of a relationship. Sadly, these were the issues Jason experienced during the process of recording the new album. One song in particular, ’Foolish Lover, I'm Sorry’, written by the artist Deepa Soul, eerily echoed Jason’s glum situation.
“It came to me right after the break-up with my then-boyfriend,” recalls Jason. “I know it’s twisted, but when I sing the track, it’s like I become him and I imagine him singing it to me.
“Love hurts,” he continues. “But it helps to have a chance to enter your exes mind and see things through a different point of view. Luckily, it’s only the one song where I enter his mind. In other songs, I encapsulate other personalities. I actually got to play a lot of characters on the album.”
Flexible was completed in two months; much quicker than Walker’s first album, This Is My Life.
“This Is My Life took time to come together. There were actually four singles released before the album came out. Flexible, on the other hand, happened a lot faster and it was creatively amazing for everyone involved.”
In addition to Junior Vasquez, a host of music royalty lent their talents to the new album. Gary Brown, who wrote “Believe” and co-wrote "Set It Free" with Jason Walker on the first album, penned the Quentin Harris produced “Superstar” on the new album. Even Platinum recording artist Billie Myers – best known for touring Lilith Fair with her rock hit “Kiss The Rain” – added her golden touch to Flexible. She provided the title track on the album.
“Billie’s song was my favorite track to record,” says Walker. “First of all, I love that it has an alternative lifestyle theme to it, and that it’s classy and elegant. The whole attitude of the song made for an interesting and fun recording session. Junior put his foot in the orchestral production and Steven Alexander did the vocal production and arranged the brilliant harmonies on the second verse. They weren’t there on Billie's version, but we thought that they would sound cool. When Billie heard the harmonies, she loved them and that of course made us very happy.
“My goal was to show different sides of me on this album,” he explains. “I wanted to travel to different places, take people on a journey that was different than my first album. I think 'I Can't Get You Off My Mind' is one of the best examples of the musical journeys on the record. Junior loved this song from the beginning and was adamant about including it on the album. I loved it too. The message fits in so well with the album and the chorus is off the hook. It will be actually be the first single off the album and I couldn’t be more excited. I think that the song has the potential to widen my audience.”