Jo Passed

Jo Passed is the songwriting and creative project of **Jo Hirabayashi**, a musician and producer based in Toronto and Vancouver. The project started somewhat unexpectedly when Jo, dealing with a bout of insomnia, began writing songs that would become the foundation of Jo Passed—the moment he finished that first song, the insomnia disappeared. Jo originally collaborated with drummer Mac Lawrie, and the two moved to Montreal together before Jo eventually returned to Vancouver, where multi-instrumentalist Bella Bébé and bassist Megan-Magdalena Bourne joined the lineup.

Jo Passed released two EPs, *Up* and *Out*, before signing with Sub Pop and Royal Mountain Records and dropping their debut album *Their Prime* in 2018—a sprawling, experimental record that critics compared to a "fucked-up Beatles" sound filtered through '80s krautrock and indie sensibilities. After a creative hiatus, Jo returned in 2025 with the single "Weekend" and just released their sophomore album *Away* on January 23, 2026. The project's music tackles themes of urban anxiety, lost time, identity, and existential dread with a patchwork quilt of loud-and-quiet dynamics that feels both chaotic and deeply personal.