We all learned life lessons during the Great Lockdown of 2020-21. Rhythm&Truth was born out of a lesson that’s existed for centuries, but became even more important over this last year: Through rhythm, we can all find our truth.  

Part experiment, part personal music therapy, and part unique way to keep creative juices flowing during a pandemic, Rhythm&Truth is a music collective founded and led by tech entrepreneur Daniel Anstandig, who’s been drumming and creating music since he was a toddler. 

“Music has been deeply personal to me for as long as I can remember. It’s where I turn to work out creative ideas, release stress, feel spiritual purpose, and connect with others,” says Anstandig.  

“Like so many others in 2020, I was stuck inside with a keyboard, drums, the internet, and unexpected time (usually spent traveling for business) on my hands. That’s when it struck me that there were incredible professional musicians all over the world who would be on the road were it not for our shared challenge, and I wanted to turn that into an opportunity. So after long days of zoom meetings, I started recruiting my friends in the music business to make music together virtually at night.” 

Anstandig recruited a team of collaborators spanning three continents, six countries, and 7 U.S. states to put together the Rhythm&Truth collective and its first album, Life Lessons. Some, like European musician Clemens Wenners and MaKenzie Thomas from The Voice, have been longtime Anstandig collaborators; others came into the project through shared connections. Collaborators and contributors on Life Lessons have worked with artists including Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Lenny Kravitz, Chic, Chaka Khan, Tina Turner, Roy Orbison, The B-52s, XTC, Pet Shop Boys, Nine Inch Nails, Andra Day, Herb Alpert, Sergio Mendes, Chrissie Hynde, and many more. 

Rhythm&Truth’s stylistically diverse Life Lessons  album was recorded 100% virtually. Anstandig structured the project so that all contributors recorded their tracks independently, and in an orderly fashion that provided each musician the ability to add their unique fingerprint to each track.  

“That Life Lessons even happened is a testament to the ability of music to bring people together virtually. Since we produced this together entirely virtually, we weren’t constrained by time zone or the cost and time involved with traveling,” says Anstandig. “But the incredible musicians featured together on this album, who were benched by circumstance, literally did not miss a beat. We’re all incredibly proud of how this came together.” 

Anstandig’s vision for the Rhythm&Truth Life Lessons album project — beyond all-important personal music therapy for himself and his collaborators — was to create a work that injected positivity into the world for all who listen. The through-line for the album is that all songs — covers and originals written by Anstandig and collaborators — deliver some type of life lesson, which we’ve all had our share of during the unprecedented, sometimes baffling events of the last year-plus. 

DISCOGRAPHY

• The first single on the album, Mother Earth Father Sky, featuring Clemens Wenners, was released on April 20, 2021. 
• MaKenzie Thomas' debut album, Love MaKenzie, produced by Rhythm&Truth, was released on May 25, 2021.
• Rhythm&Truth’s debut album, Life Lessons, was released on June 21, 2021 in every major digital music store and streaming service.
• Jake Good and Rhythm&Truth released a new single, Break the Shell, on the first day of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere, March 21, 2021.