Sixth Former Alir Gladden has already released two albums, Trash Before Treasure and Dead Hearts. For his graduation project, he is making a third, Just In Case I Die Tonight. So far, Gladden’s albums have consisted of instrumental tracks with hip-hop beats and more mid-tempo lo-fi tracks. This album, though, is going to be different from his previous work.
“This album is a concept album, so I’m exploring heartbreak and trauma through the scope of therapy sessions. The entire album revolves around a therapy session,” Gladden said. “I have different voices to portray different feelings.”
“I’m proud of how much I’m pushing myself to express my feelings.”
Alir Gladden ’23
This will be his first album featuring his own singing and rapping.
This is an exciting new step for Gladden, and he said, “I’m proud of how much I’m pushing myself to express my feelings. This album is the first time I’m putting words to my music, and I’m proud of my ability to convey my trauma and sadness through the music that I put out.”
Gladden has always been interested in making music, and he is happy to finally be releasing it on streaming platforms.
“As a child, I listened to a lot of music and a lot of hip-hop, and as I got older, I started getting more into who is making the music, who is doing what, and then I wanted to do that. So in sixth grade I started experimenting and I put out music, even though it was terrible. But I kept pushing, and last year I pushed myself to finally release my music on major streaming platforms,” Gladden said.
“I bring a different voice to Haverford. As a Black man at Haverford, I feel like my voice isn’t often heard, and I feel like my music is a way for me to be able to put myself out there, and see if people can relate.”
alir Gladden ’23
It was hard for Gladden to be comfortable releasing his music, and he advises others to “keep pushing, even if you think your music is terrible at first. I thought that at first too. It’s good to have a group of people that you know and that you can trust that can give you constructive criticism. It might not always be positive, it might not always be negative, but having those people there to give you the advice that you need is extremely helpful.”
He finds his music to be an important form of self-expression.
“I bring a different voice to Haverford. As a Black man at Haverford, I feel like my voice isn’t often heard, and I feel like my music is a way for me to be able to put myself out there, and see if people can relate. If they can, they can come talk to me and we can have an open conversation,” Gladden said.Just In Case I Die Tonight will be released this summer on all streaming platforms.
