Stayed

"Stayed" was born in a small apartment above a coffee shop during the longest autumn on record. The songwriter had just turned down a job offer that would have meant moving across the country—a decision that left friends puzzled and family concerned. But there was something about remaining that felt like the braver choice.

The album captures the complex emotions of choosing to stay: the fear of stagnation, the comfort of familiar routines, the deep work of putting down real roots. Each song was recorded in that same apartment, using the ambient sounds of the coffee shop below as a sonic foundation—the espresso machine's hiss, the gentle murmur of conversation, the rain against windows.

"House of Echoes" emerged from the experience of sitting in empty rooms after roommates moved away, feeling the weight of memories embedded in walls. "Roots in Borrowed Soil" came from watching friends chase opportunities while questioning whether stability was surrender or wisdom. "Morning Coffee Ritual" was written during those first weeks of living alone, finding profound meaning in small, consistent acts of self-care.

The centerpiece, "Letters to Future Self," was inspired by a shoebox of old journals found while cleaning. Reading younger versions of hopes and fears created a conversation across time about who we become when we're patient with the process of becoming. "Garden of Second Chances" closes the album with the realization that staying isn't about giving up on growth—it's about growing where you are.

More than an album, "Stayed" is a meditation on the radical act of remaining. In a culture that equates movement with progress, it argues for the profound courage required to tend the life you have, to find adventure in depth rather than distance, to discover that the most important journey might be the one that leads you home to yourself.