Harrison Gesser Charts New Territory with Politically-Charged Single “Pangaea”
Miami-based singer-songwriter Harrison Gesser will release his most ambitious track yet on August 21 — and we were lucky enough to hear it early. “Pangaea” blends geopolitical commentary with catchy pop melodies, serving as the opening statement for his upcoming debut album. The track reflects an artist who resists easy labels, expanding on the genre-crossing style he’s honed over the years.
Named after Earth’s last supercontinent, “Pangaea” finds Harrison wrestling with questions that span geological time and contemporary politics. What if humanity had existed when all landmasses were unified? Would we have borders, visas, and divisions that fragment our modern world? These weighty concepts form the backbone of a song that transforms complex ideas into immediately accessible pop music.
The track arrives as Harrison’s artistic identity comes into sharp focus after years of musical wandering. His story reads like something out of a rock biography—building his first drum kit from kitchen pots and pans at age five, later earning recognition from Downbeat Magazine for his percussion work in high school jazz ensembles. That early rhythm foundation became crucial as he morphed from drummer to frontman with the post-punk duo Emergency Staircase, whose 2022 album “Rise & Shine” gave listeners their first taste of Harrison as both performer and songwriter.
His real breakthrough came at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music, where he landed a full scholarship for jazz studies. Suddenly surrounded by musicians from different worlds, Harrison started absorbing everything—jazz, rap, world music, sounds he’d never encountered growing up. The result was a kind of musical awakening that would reshape his entire approach to songwriting. Drawing from album-oriented rock, Americana folk, synth-pop, and the American Songbook tradition, he began crafting something that borrowed from all of them but sounded entirely new.
“I was confused about my musical direction because I liked so many different styles,” he admits when discussing his evolution. “As time moved on, I took all the music I loved and started writing and creating what I wanted to hear.” This musical omnivory produced a 2024 catalog that started with “Normal” and continued through three more singles that showcased his expanding range: “Just One Man,” “Mountain With You,” and “The Amnesia Song.”
“Pangaea” benefits from a true collaboration that seems to mirror the global unity its title suggests. His father Ronnie Gesser handles background vocals, mixing, and co-production, while guitarist Jeff Pevar and multi-instrumentalist Noah Hansfield help build arrangements. The recording itself happened everywhere—Miami studios, friends’ places, collaborators’ home setups across three different cities.
For all the conceptual weight and musical complexity, “Pangaea” never loses sight of being, first and foremost, a damn good pop song. The guy has developed some interesting ideas about artistic explanation that feel pretty refreshing right now. “Artists don’t really owe an explanation,” he says, “just like the world doesn’t owe you to listen to your music.” He’s applying this philosophy to how he presents himself, deliberately keeping some mystery alive instead of explaining every creative choice to death. It’s a gutsy move that makes you want to lean in closer.
The immigration themes and identity questions woven through “Pangaea” show a young artist taking the world’s problems seriously, but Harrison trusts his listeners to find their own meanings in the music. He figures melody and rhythm can communicate things that lengthy artist statements can’t—and he’s probably right.
This single kicks off what looks like an intriguing album campaign. “The Lord And I Are Leaving Town” drops in September, followed by “Let Em Go” and the full album sometime in early November. Each release builds toward what Gesser calls deeply personal music that won’t fit neatly into any category—songs that tackle big themes but never forget to be catchy.
The guy’s onto something here. He’s learned to blend jazz training with pop instincts, political consciousness with musical accessibility, serious themes with serious hooks. “Pangaea” suggests an artist who gets that the best protest songs often disguise themselves as perfect three-minute pop confections.
Harrison Gesser is asking what might happen if we remembered we all live on the same planet. The answer, if “Pangaea” is any indication, might just sound pretty great.
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/harrisongesser/pangaea