Submerged in a sense of childlike wonder and awe, Joey Pecoraro’s new album Sea Monster wells up with nostalgic emotion. The Michigan producer’s lush, chilled-out sound sits comfortably in the lo-fi hip hop world while shimmering with pop appeal. Slow-driving rhythms drift into waking dreams. Reassuring melodies roll into ear-catching hooks. Old-school samples from sci-fi radio dramas augment the aura of exploration. Pecoraro plays piano and sings on several tracks, wide-eyed and warmly expressive.

“Writing this album reminded me of when I was a little kid, at a time when everything I was experiencing felt new and exciting,” says Pecoraro. Created during the cold Michigan winter while wearing fingerless gloves, Sea Monster kindles an oft-forgotten feeling of childhood curiosity and discovery. “I usually begin with a melody or a drum pattern, or something else...nothing groundbreaking, just an idea…I've always felt like I exude this feeling of incompetence and that translates to a lot of my music feeling incomplete and earnestly novice – people seem to relate to that. I'm not a production whiz or audiophile, and never really learned the ins and outs of the various audio software. I try my best to follow my idea until it feels like I've gotten the most out of it that I can.”

Sea Monster was born of a child’s imagination. “I love to swim and I grew up around fresh-water lakes,” Pecoraro recalls. “I was always pretty sure there was some sort of menacing creature in the water when I would go too deep, probably on account of watching too many movies like Jaws and Creature from the Black Lagoon. I realize now that it was all my imagination, but it felt so real and I was so thoroughly convinced at the time…When we are young, things seem a lot scarier to us than they actually turn out to be.”

Each track imagines a new wonderland for its listeners. A spaceship hovers slowly over a twilight landscape of crickets and cosmic knocks in “Coming Back to Earth,” a cinematic stage-setting for the high-flying release. Beats rush in quickly from the void. “Hello Sun” awakens a bittersweet smile deep within, cradled in contented yearning by Pecoraro’s steadfast vocals.

Moody and melancholic, “Gummy Bears and Sleeping in Alone” lullabies into rainy day reverie. “Shout in Our Heart” takes melancholic comfort in walking alone and “Lightning” cracks into a thoughtful, throwback vibe – a soundtrack for soulful soothing. Bike-riding beats feel happy-go-lucky in “Pebble in the Sky.” From the glow-light horns of “The Charming Creature” to the treetop-skimming flight in “It Is All Connected,” Sea Monster lives and breathes.

Out of the far horizons of the unknown come tales of new dimensions in time and space: Sea Monster. With thoughtful purpose and vivid emotions, Joey Pecoraro takes you to a strange new world where somehow – you feel perfectly at home.