Jonathan Roy

It’s been a long, unexpected, and literally winding journey that brought Jonathan Roy to Life Distortions.

Having grown up between Colorado and Montreal, it wasn’t unusual for Jonathan to start to feel restless, but a few years ago, the weight became more pressing. He had been making music for years but knew something was missing. So, just like a modern day Beat poet, Jonathan decided to hit the road. 

On a quest for self-discovery with no set physical destination in mind, Jonathan headed right across the US in a 1989 Ford Ultra RV. “When I left, everything fit in the RV,” he said. “I sold everything and I realized all these things didn’t make me happy … to get happiness, you have to go and grab it within.” He ultimately ended up in Los Angeles, living along the PCH with a view of the ocean for two years, and that’s where the internal shifts really started to unfold. 

One of the earliest songs Jonathan wrote in this period of exploration was the emotionally-charged “Keeping Me Alive,” the first sign he was moving in a whole new direction. Light-years removed from the pop-infused Mr. Optimist Blues, “Keeping Me Alive” debuted on his 2021 EP My Lullaby and quickly reached over 90 million streams on YouTube. The immediate success of the track served as proof for Jonathan that, even in this prefab world we live in, nothing resonates like real authentic art.