The Autograf trio, comprised of Jake Carpenter, Mikul Wing, and Louis Kha, have maintained a non-stop itinerary in the last three years since their emergence. Amid constant touring and studio time, the trio’s latest Caution:Live tour has found Carpenter largely absent, and he’s now cluing fans into the nature of his sidelining.
Recently Carpenter took to social media to share a heartfelt message to fans, describing suffering a severe mental breakdown that challenged his ability to tour with his band. Carpenter feared he “would tour again” though after an extended period of rehabilitation with friends and family away from the road, he’s preparing to rejoin Autograf once again. The Chicago-based producers hadn’t publicly spoken about Carpenter’s absence prior to the recent Instagram post.
Artist mental health has been a rising issue in recent years with the unrealistically strenuous nature of the dance music industry. With electronic music’s young talents emerging into the lightning-fast world of touring and promotion, hopefully we see artists take measures of self care away from the road like this more frequently going forward. Read Jake Carpenter’s full statement below.
We haven’t publicly said anything until now- but I was off tour for 5 months. At the end of 2017, after 3 incredible years of practically non-stop touring, I had a severe mental breakdown which forced me to miss our big headline tour. I didn’t think I would tour again- I felt a shadow of my former self. But being home and surrounded by my friends and family for 5 months, and taking care of myself and seeking out help has done me a world of good. I feel so incredibly blessed to have Mikul and Louis as bandmates and have so many talented people working on our team. Everyone has been very understanding of my need to take a step back from it all for a minute and I couldn’t be more grateful. Taking the time to go back to my roots making art and sculpture again has been very therapeutic. I feel balanced, stable, and healthy- and in the process got to spend lots of time in the studio writing music, sculpting, drawing, and creating. I can’t wait to share all the new projects we’ve been working on and I’m so excited to come back on tour and get involved with all of you guys again! Love, Jake 
@willselviz
Source: dancingastronaut.com
