On January 19, Dan Loges, a senior here at FTHS, released his first album, Sun Eclipsing Moon, on all platforms. Dan has been working on his music for years, and after the release of Slow Dancing Under the Moon, his first single, the stage was set for the amazing release of “Eclipsing”. I was able to sit down with Dan, FTHS’s own musician, and was able to ask my good friend a few questions about his album. Included below is an interview on Sun Eclipsing Moon, Dan’s dedication to music, and a few hits about what comes next…

So, today is February 3rd, 2024, and I am speaking with Mr. Dan Loges right now, say hello!

– That is correct, hello!

I just wanted to ask you a few questions about your music career.

– Yes sir!

First off, you have just released, last month, a new album. Your first album, Sun Eclipsing Moon! Do you have any basics to tell me about that? Because that is just a HUGE DEAL!

– It’s something that’s been in the works for 2 ½ years or so now, and we’ve been very on and off. So finally seeing that it was like, out of my hands and stuff, and it was really just on to other people now, that was really cool. The feedback I received from it was just so cool, and not something I really expected.

That’s so awesome and great to hear. Why don’t you tell me a bit about your inspiration for making these songs? Sun Eclipsing Moon has a story that includes all of these songs that have different meanings, different words, vocals, everything! Why don’t you tell me a little bit about your thought process. How long did it take to make these?

– I mean, each song was different and stuff. I think you know you want to get a story across, and the story is about the highs and lows of a relationship and stuff. You know, it can be a great time, and there’s definitely going to be rough patches, but really, the whole end of it is persevering. It’s not the worst part of it, it’s about how you recover from the worst part of it, you know? How do you move on from that? And I think that was a lot of the inspiration. Not the story itself, but more of what happens afterward.

That’s really, really important. Thank you! So, would you consider the message of your album to be staying strong through tough times?

– Absolutely. Because you know, you need the bad days to know when you’ll have the good days.

That’s so nice. Before you released Sun Eclipsing Moon, you actually released a single entitled Slow Dancing Under the Moon, which reappeared in this album. What are your thoughts on why you decided to release that first?

– I think when you hear a song like that, it sets up that the album to come out is going to be “a love album”. It’s gonna be a love story, because it’s a very soothing, romantic song. And not that it’s supposed to be misleading, but it kinda gets you into this mindset that it’s just gonna be “another” album, but it’s really not. There is a tonal shift about halfway through the album that changes the story trajectory. And so that’s kinda why I wanted to release that song, to get the feeling across.

Of course, of course, thank you very much! Now, I just have two more questions for you. How do you feel about the reception to your album? It seemed to take off at our school!

– I mean, yeah! (Dan and I share a laugh). I mean, you know, you never know how people are going to receive that. I released it because I wanted to, because I feel like, when you know, get that across, “oh yeah, I actually released an album!!!” That’s so rewarding. And you know, it was really just up in the air of how other people were going to receive this. The reception has been OVERWHELMING. I’ve gotten so many people come up to me and tell me that they listened to it. And even if they don’t love it, even the fact that they took time out of their day to listen to it, is, you know, humbling.

Honestly, that really means a lot. Final question! How do you feel about the future of this? Of course, I LOVED your album, just gonna say that. But I feel that, if I was gonna say, you want to be known not as just “someone’s friend” who made music, but as a real artist on your own. Do you have anything to tell us, the audience of Freehold Township High School, and even the audience of this album, what comes next?

– You know, that’s a great question. Because as soon as your album releases, it’s not the question of “awesome, now that’s it.” It is the question of what is next, of where you go from there. And so, you know, since the album came out, obviously, closer to the release date I was working really, really hard on it, making sure everything was perfect. So I did take a bit of a break from all that, but you know, I have gone back into writing stuff. My producer, Danny Summonte, I hope with the foreseeable future, we will be meeting up again very soon.

That’s AMAZING to hear! Thank you so much for letting me have some of your time, Dan!

– Thank you!

I just wanted to say to the people of FTHS, PLEASE go listen to Dan Loges’s Sun Eclipsing Moon. It is an amazing album by an amazing guy, and I am SO excited to hear what comes next from this Freehold Township artist. Thank you all!

I’d like to thank Dan Loges for lending me some of his time, and for creating this incredible album. You are so, so incredibly talented, my friend. Sun Eclipsing Moon is available NOW on all platforms! PLEASE GO LISTEN!!!