New album unfolds as a story told through music, released chapter by chapter
SARASOTA, Fla., May 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Independent artist and creator Matthew Hartley is releasing new music in a format that breaks from traditional streaming. His album The Time Is Now debuts as a story-driven music experience, released chapter by chapter on Harmonic Wave, an AI-powered platform he built to give creators control over how their work is delivered and experienced.
Blending Christian rock and adult contemporary influences, The Time Is Now tells the story of Hartley’s personal journey through love, loss, growth, and redemption. Rather than releasing a full album at once, Hartley is unveiling the project two songs at a time, with each release forming a chapter in a larger narrative.
On Harmonic Wave, the music is not presented as a static playlist. Instead, listeners move through a structured experience where songs are connected through emotional and narrative arcs, creating a deeper and more intentional connection to the story behind the music.
“The joy is in the journey,” said Hartley. “I want people to experience the story as it unfolds — chapter by chapter. Harmonic Wave allows me to share not only the songs, but the meaning, emotion, and purpose behind them.”
Many of the tracks on The Time Is Now were produced with Grammy Award-winning producer David Kershenbaum, whose credits include Joe Jackson, Duran Duran, Tracy Chapman, Supertramp, and Bryan Adams.
Hartley, a Sarasota-based musician and software developer, created Harmonic Wave to address a key limitation in today’s streaming platforms: once content is uploaded, creators lose control over how it is experienced. Harmonic Wave introduces a structured system where creators can define how music, video, images, and text are delivered as guided experiences.
The platform extends beyond music into a broader framework for narrative media, and the underlying technology is currently patent pending.
The first chapters of The Time Is Now are currently streaming through Harmonic Wave and can be accessed at https://matthewhartleymusic.com/.
About Matthew Hartley
Matthew Hartley is an independent artist, creator, and founder of Imagine Peak Studios, working at the intersection of music, storytelling, and software. His work blends Christian rock and narrative-driven songwriting to create immersive, emotionally connected experiences.
About Harmonic Wave
Harmonic Wave is an AI-driven media platform that transforms content into structured, guided experiences. By combining storytelling with agent-based delivery, it allows music and media to be experienced as evolving journeys rather than static streams.
https://harmonicwave.ai/.
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SOURCE Imagine Peak Studios
