For Music Cult, staying in one musical lane has never really been part of the plan. Led by Florida-based producer Lee Johnson, the project moves freely between pop, progressive rock, hip hop and gothic rock, building a catalog where experimentation is less of an occasional detour and more of the entire point.
That approach can already be heard across tracks including “Resistance,” “Deadnames,” “Neon Skin,” “Bag of Tricks,” “Slow-Burning Fire” and “Sweet Secret Sin.” More recently, “The Shoals” has become the latest addition to that growing catalog, offering another introduction to a project that has been moving quickly since its launch in 2024.
Music Cult may be relatively new, but Johnson’s experience behind it stretches back more than four decades. After performing in original and cover bands throughout the 1980s and 1990s, he moved further into production and the business side of music. As a co-founder of AudioSparx and RadioSparx, Johnson has worked with more than 8,000 rights holders, helping artists commercialize their work across film, television, retail and digital platforms.
Music Cult represents a return to putting original creativity firmly at the center. Johnson has written and produced more than 80 tracks for the project in under two years, while collaboration has helped continually expand its sound. Vocalist Leanaxxah joined in 2025, bringing another distinctive presence to the music, while bassist Rick Hollander is among the musicians contributing to the wider project.
That prolific period is now leading towards something bigger.
Music Cult is currently preparing their second album, Psychedelic Shift. Rather than revealing too much about when listeners can expect it, the project is already beginning to paint a picture of what this next chapter will represent. The album was created around the idea of escaping rigid genre expectations, pulling from decades of musical influence while reworking those ideas through modern production, mood and storytelling.
Only a selection of those 80-plus tracks ultimately made the cut. The writing process often began with unconventional rhythms, tonal contrasts or lyrical ideas rather than traditional song structures, with collaboration pushing some tracks in directions Johnson hadn’t originally expected.
That unpredictability feels particularly fitting when looking back at Music Cult’s existing catalog. “A Day in the Sun,” “Resistance,” and “Deadnames” have each passed 13,000 Spotify streams, while “Bag of Tricks,” “Slow-Burning Fire,” and “Sweet Secret Sin” have continued to build their own audiences. Together with “The Shoals,” those songs show just how much ground the project is willing to cover.
The next album looks set to take that idea even further.
Psychedelic Shift will explore contrasts including light and darkness, control and chaos, and clarity and distortion without necessarily trying to resolve them. Instead, Music Cult wants listeners to become immersed in each different emotional space.
For now, “The Shoals” gives listeners another reason to enter Music Cult’s increasingly unpredictable world. With an extensive catalog already behind them and a second album waiting on the horizon, the project’s refusal to settle into one sound is quickly becoming its most recognizable quality.
