Jonas Vale
After the Lights Go Out
Out Friday — 2 October 2026, on all major platforms
Twenty songs on love, fatherhood, masculinity, regret, ageing and second chances — the title track is streaming on AppLand now.
View AlbumThe Story So Far
1990s — London
Jonas Vale grows up in a house where music is constantly playing but rarely discussed. Soul, gospel, R&B and British singer-songwriters become part of the background of his childhood. He starts playing piano young, largely by ear, but never seriously considers becoming a performer.
Late 2000s — Finding his voice
As a teenager, Vale begins writing songs privately. His early material is sparse — piano, voice and observations about relationships, family and the things people struggle to say directly. Even then, his unusually deep, restrained vocal becomes central to the sound.
2010s — Life before music
Rather than immediately pursuing a recording career, Vale spends much of his twenties living an ordinary life away from the industry. Relationships, work, becoming older and watching friendships change gradually give him the material that will later define his writing. Songs accumulate in notebooks and phone recordings, but most are never heard.
Early 2020s — The songs become serious
Vale returns to writing with a different perspective. Instead of chasing contemporary R&B trends, he begins stripping songs back: piano, warm analogue textures, gospel harmony and a vocal deliberately left imperfect. The guiding principle becomes simple — if a lyric doesn't sound like something a person might actually say, it doesn't stay.
2025 — Jonas Vale emerges
A collection of deeply personal recordings finally becomes the foundation of the Jonas Vale project. Tracks including "Hold Onto Me," "What Love Costs" and "Paper Prayers" establish his sound: British soul built around quiet delivery rather than vocal theatrics.
2026 — After the Lights Go Out
Vale begins his most ambitious body of work yet. Across 20 songs, After the Lights Go Out explores love, fatherhood, masculinity, regret, ageing, loneliness and second chances. The title track becomes the record's centre of gravity: what happens when the day is finished, nobody is watching and you're left with the things you've been avoiding. Elsewhere, "Things I Never Said" reduces everything to piano and voice, while "Somebody's Son," "Forty Something," "No Signal," "Enough" and "Morning Comes Anyway" approach different stages of adult life without trying to tidy them into easy answers.
Now — After the lights go out…
Jonas Vale isn't presented as a character with all the answers. That's rather the point. His songs live in the moments after the argument, after the children are asleep, after somebody leaves, after you finally admit you were wrong. Music for the things people think about when there's nobody left to perform for.
The 1990s → Now
A story in six chapters — swipe through
His Albums
His Tracks
33 published on AppLand
