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Jun 29, 2021 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Alice Baxley

Fresh off of the release of his debut EP Peace, multi-disciplinary artist Junior Mesa was faced with a crushing diagnosis. Junior Mesa was diagnosed with epilepsy, forcing him into a new relationship with the music he had made his life. Learning to live and create with epilepsy over 2019 and 2020 gave birth to his sophomore EP, Cirque Du Freak. Mesa envisioned the project as a glimpse into the world of a psychedelic freak show, orchestrated, produced, and recorded by Mesa himself. Now Mesa is back with the second single from the forthcoming project, “Paranoia Dreams.”

For Mesa’s sophomore EP he drew most direct inspiration from the symphonic psychedelic pop of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. That influence is all over “Paranoia Dreams,” with its heady percussion, carnival-esque instrumentation, and blooming, trippy melodies. Amidst the colorful haze of psych pop the single dives into darker lyrical territory, reflecting on Mesa’s experiences with anxiety and the accompanying all-encompassing paranoia.

Mesa explains, “I had my first panic attack when I was 17. I would then go on to have a panic attack every day, sometimes a couple a day for the next year. I had extreme paranoia about a lot of things. I fell into a very dark, bottomless pit. You can fall forever but I managed to find some grounding and am working on climbing out!”

Check out the song below and watch for the Cirque Du Freak EP, out August 13th via Nice Life Recording Company.