Out music award-winner Jason Walker has released a new single in time for his performance at this year’s Philly Pride.
Walker teamed up with two-time Grammy-nominated dance producer Tony Moran for “I’m in Love with You,” an up-tempo dance track in the third collaboration for the pair.
“The thing about Tony is I feel like he and I have an artist connection,” Walker said. “He gets me. He understands me, how I think and my voice. It just kind of happens. He understood me right away and it grew into what it is now.”
Walker, a Pittsburgh native, developed his vocal chops singing in church choirs and then in local R&B and blues bands before he went on to deliver a winning performance on TV’s “It’s Showtime at the Apollo,” followed by a career in club and dance music.
“It’s all music,” he said of the styles he has performed over the course of his career. “I have love for soul music and I try to interject that into everything I sing. There’s an element of soul that comes naturally to me because of what I grew up around and I try to inject that into the dance records that I make.”
Walker said he’s looking forward to Philly Pride, if for no other reason than the drastic change in time and venue that such a gig provides.
“I like the fact that it’s during the day and not 4 in the morning. People are more aware of their surroundings and watching the artists compared to being in the club. It’s nice to do dance music while the sun is out.”
Is a boisterously happy dance/pop song right for our troubling times?
“Anything that anyone wants to do to escape the nightmare that has become this country,” he said. “[Choreographer]Bill Coleman said to me one time, ‘You know, no matter what is happening in the world, people want to be entertained and step outside themselves and escape reality.’ I think that is definitely true.”
Jason Walker performs at Philly Pride June 10. His new single is available now on iTunes. For more information, visit www.jasonwalkermusic.com.