At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Arrested Youth wanted to find a unique way to interact and reach out to fans to see how they could connect. This marked the beginning of the Quarantine Sessions, an opportunity for fans across the world to come together and write songs. Today, Arrested Youth has announced the final product of these sessions, the Arrested Youth & The Quarantiners EP, which will be released on May 29th. This EP celebrates the beauty and creative energy that can come from such a dark time in our world, and solidifies that the fans are what make music possible. Fans can pre-save Arrested Youth & The Quarantiners today at https://arrestedyouth.ffm.to/
Ian Johnson, p/k/a “Arrested Youth”, started each session by producing a rough demo of music, then worked with fans via Instagram and YouTube livestreams to create a song concept along with lyrics. Johnson would then come up with vocal melodies, and put finishing production edits with his friend and producer Kevin “Thrasher” Gruft.
“Instead of guessing what kids were going through, I wanted to hear from them first-hand,” says Johnson. “So, we got together a couple nights a week to write songs- anything from what we were doing with our free time to how we were feeling about life in general.”
Arrested Youth built his cult following through his mix of alternative and hip-hop styles and thought-provoking lyrics addressing issues of self-doubt, ego, and the hyper-stimulation brought on by social media. Johnson was raised in Louisville, Kentucky. He started Arrested Youth wanting to create an outlet for the many challenges his generation is facing.
“It’s my understanding that no other fanbase has written an entire EP together, which makes this a historic moment for Arrested Youth,” says Johnson. “We may not have a platinum record yet, but we are becoming a part of music history with our fan-written album.”
Since releasing his debut album FEAR in late 2018, Arrested Youth has amassed 40+ million streams, and supported Yungblud, DREAMERS and The Mowgli’s on their US and Canadian tours.
Stay tuned to Arrested Youth’s socials for more information soon.