Collin Westerlund’s Beautiful World

Last updated on: July 21, 2026 at 4:43 pm by Andrew Likoudis

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Collin Westerlund’s Beautiful World 2026-07-21T16:43:46-04:00 Andrew Likoudis

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Collin Westerlund (@CollinWesterlu) plays every instrument on his records—drums, bass, guitars, keys, and every layer of vocals. He writes, arranges, and produces alone, building full-band arrangements one track at a time out of conviction in his musical vision. The sound he pursues relies on vocal harmony, clean lyrics, and the pop and soul craftsmanship of Motown or Gamble & Huff.

Sage of the Middle Ages, Hildegard von Bingen once wrote that music was preserved in humanity to recall the harmony of Paradise, and that in ordering sound, the artist participates in divine creation. Raised a Jehovah’s Witness, Westerlund’s faith has since shifted away from the strict, insular lifestyle of his childhood—a shift reflected in his work—yet his belief in the divine ordering of the universe remains intact. For him, the music he produces serves as his truest confession. In an era dominated by digitized production and fragmented art, Westerlund’s single-handed craftsmanship treats music-making not as mere self-expression, but as a vocation of service to others, rooted in discipline and a reverence for creation itself. It is an exercise in creative stewardship: taking raw sound and ordering it toward warmth, beauty, and joy.

His debut album, Beautiful World, arrived in 2022: twelve tracks, almost a dozen instruments, and a single musician. Singles followed: “After All,” “To The Sun,” and a collaboration with Kenny Goodman titled “Move,” which Westerlund wrote and produced.

Service Through Sound

A Baltimore native who spent several years in Bentonville, Arkansas, Westerlund converted half his house there into a studio and founded Arkansas House Records. He built the label to serve singers who had no band, no catalog, and no releases under their own names. He wrote their songs, produced their sessions, and issued their first projects. “We’re just trying to focus on music that makes you feel good,” he told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in 2023.

The label has since closed, and Westerlund is back in Baltimore. His new house also has a recording studio, but the focus has shifted. In Arkansas, he produced others’ music. Now, in this season, he produces his own, taking on outside clients and collaborations more sparingly.

The Long Silence and the Return

After “Move” in 2023, the songs stopped. Following a three-year silence, Westerlund traveled to Japan in 2026 to break the dry spell. He returned with two new tracks. “Picture This,” released this July, marks his return—written, produced, and played entirely by him. A second single and a music video shot in Japan will follow.

The title of his debut album describes the music well: warm, unhurried, built to cultivate joy. But Beautiful World fits the life behind and in front of it just as well. From building a home studio to serve unknown singers, to crossing the world when the well ran dry, to returning home to his family—the title reflects a way of seeing creation.

Collin Westerlund’s music, including his debut album Beautiful World and the new single “Picture This,” is available at collinwesterlundmusic.com.

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