Andy Koh Releases Debut LP TAKING THE LONG WAY

Dallas-based singer-songwriter and pediatric oncologist Andy Koh has been making music since his undergraduate days at Harvard in the late '80s. Nearly four decades later, Koh releases his debut LP, Taking the Long Way, a collection of songs written across different chapters of his life and finally brought together on one record. The album's focus track, 'The Test,' has also been released.

Written over the course of nearly four decades, Taking the Long Way traces Koh's journey through music, medicine, family, and everything in between. Some songs were written in his twenties, while others took shape decades later. Together, they form a portrait of an artist returning to music that never really left him.

'The Test' was the first real song I ever wrote — an unrequited love song from a 17 year old kid who was obsessed with The Police and trying, in his own way, to write 'Message in a Bottle,' Koh explains. 'It started as four chords repeating over and over, but over the years it grew into something much bigger, with a complex bridge, a breakdown section, and a vocal melody that keeps changing shape even as the harmony stays simple. I'm proud of how far this song has traveled from where it began.'

That influence comes through in 'The Test,' with its angular, rhythm-driven guitar work and bright, melodic hooks, giving the song a distinctly nostalgic feel without sounding stuck in the past.

Rather than feeling like a collection assembled from different periods of his life, Taking the Long Way finds a connection between songs written at different stages of Koh's journey. Early material sits alongside more recent work, with each song carrying the perspective of the moment in which it was written and the distance gained by finally returning to it.

'Taking the Long Way is exactly what it sounds like. Some of these songs were written in my twenties, while others were finished decades later. In between, life moved forward with medicine, family and everything that comes with it. Music never disappeared, but it stepped aside. The songs waited. When the opportunity finally came to work with some of the best players and engineers in the world, everything changed. These songs now sound like what I had been hearing in my head for decades. Sometimes taking the long way is the only way to get home.' Koh shares.

Recorded with a small group of first-call session players, including bassist Sean Hurley and drummer Jake Reed, the sessions were focused on finally realizing what these songs had sounded like in Koh's head for decades. Mixed and mastered by Grammy-winning engineers Darrell Thorp and Michael Romanowski, the album keeps its focus squarely on the songs themselves, allowing the performances and arrangements to bring Koh's long-held musical vision into focus.

The result is an energetic, heartfelt celebration of life, time and duality. Taking the Long Way is a record about the paths that take longer than expected, the things that remain with us along the way and the realization that sometimes the long way is the only way to get where we were meant to go.

'The Test' and Taking the Long Way are out October 30, 2026 via all DSPs.

Taking the Long Way - Tracklisting

1. The Test

2. My Side

3. Make It Alright

4. Sing Into Your Heart

5. Good Things

6. Tell Me

7. Everything

8. Fool's Food

9. Taking the Long Way

About Andy Koh

Andy Koh is a Dallas-based singer-songwriter and pediatric oncologist at UT Southwestern Medical Center. A Rhodes Scholar, he began writing songs as an undergraduate at Harvard College in the 80s, and spent the 90s playing and recording with the band coloring tunes, drawing interest from major labels before choosing a career in medicine.

Decades later, he returns with a collection of nine songs spanning nearly forty years of writing — recorded with first-call session players including bassist Sean Hurley and mixed by Grammy-winning engineer Darrell Thorp. Taking the Long Way is about time, distance, and return.

Photo Credit: Andy Koh

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