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In a bold departure from his EDM roots, Maurice Harris, known professionally as Ionne, has released his fourth full-length album, A Light Untruth, via 5015 Records. This compelling 10-track collection marks the artist’s venture into alternative music, weaving rich sonic textures with profound thematic depth.
The album draws inspiration from Ionne’s collaboration with abstract expressionist painter Mary Barr Rhodes and projection artist Benjamin Britton. Their multimedia project, Sonos Lumia, first premiered in Cincinnati in 2022 and explored the symbolic and emotional qualities of light through visual art and original music. This partnership laid the conceptual groundwork for A Light Untruth, which delves into the delicate interplay between illumination and shadow, truth and perception.
“We are aware of and appreciate the light because of its contrast to the darkness,” Ionne reflects. This duality pulses at the heart of the record, particularly in its opening sequence: “Headlight,” “Dusk & Dawn,” “Blacklight,” and “The Neverending Sun.” “Headlight,” a standout track and the artist’s personal favorite, narrates a haunting hit-and-run incident as a metaphor for transition and renewal. Its supernatural aura is visually echoed in the album’s cover art, shot by Kasaad Bullock of The Collective NHV.
Elsewhere, “Dusk & Dawn” captures the fragile space between love and separation through a poignant vocal duet, while “Blacklight” blurs the boundaries between reality and imagination. “The Neverending Sun” offers a critical reflection on prosperity and its hidden costs, challenging listeners to consider the ethical dimensions of progress.
The album’s title, A Light Untruth, is a thoughtful play on Yale University’s motto, Lux et Veritas (Light and Truth). “I’ve always been enamored by both the altruism and the arrogance of professing light and truth,” Ionne shares. “Sometimes we do things thinking they are good, only to discover later that they are harmful.” These “light untruths”, the stories we tell ourselves to make sense of life, form the emotional and philosophical core of the project.
A Light Untruth offers a nuanced and immersive listening experience. It is an album that doesn’t shy away from complexity but instead finds beauty in contradiction, and meaning in the space between light and shadow.
A Light Untruth is available on all major streaming platforms: open.spotify.com/album/1uzOc PsHCXzQ
About Ionne:
Ionne is the musical alias of Maurice Harris, an artist known for his electronic and alternative soundscapes. With a background that spans visual arts, multimedia collaboration, and music production, Ionne creates work that is as conceptually layered as it is emotionally resonant.