Jon Alban is a singer-songwriter who was born in England and studied in Australia. He first learned to play keyboards, performing in a band alongside his two brothers and two other members. After that group broke up, he reformed with one of his brothers and a friend, each composing their own individual instrumentals for the project. When that lineup also came to an end, Jon decided a solo album was the best move he could make, giving him the freedom to write songs that were more expressive and to develop his own edgy, fluid sound.
The resulting debut album, Coalsack, took two years to write and record, in large part due to a limited budget, and along the way Jon taught himself guitar while writing and arranging every track. With electronic percussion and bass, keyboards, and Jon on vocals across all the songs, the album is a distinctive blend of blues, rock and electronic sounds. Coalsack was released on 25 August 2014 through iMusician Digital and picked up by internet radio soon after, before being re-released on 30 June 2015.
