Canyon City Releases New EP ‘Circling The Sun’
December 4, 2020 BY Nettwerk
“Contemplative and utterly minimalist, Johnson’s music puts his heart directly in the spotlight.” – American Songwriter
“Capturing seasons of transition, Canyon City’s solemn ‘Circling the Sun’ EP is a soft, tender set of heartfelt acoustic songs full of space, reflection, and acceptance.” – Atwood Magazine
Modern folk artist and producer Paul Johnson, aka Canyon City, releases Circling The Sun – a warm, inviting and sweetly cinematic EP primarily written and produced in household settings, save for a bit of recording at the local Library. Listen to Circling The Sun HERE.
For his new EP and Nettwerk debut, Paul teamed back up with Nashville-based producer Zachary David who added his own homespun elements to the project. David, who is also a TV/film composer, used found objects (think couch kickdrums, t-shirt slapping snares and crumpled paper percussion) around the home when producing the EP, partially out of necessity due to Covid19. But the unorthodox arrangements only enhance the EP’s lived-in aesthetic.
Over the last five years, Canyon City’s self-released EPs and LPs frequented Spotify editorial playlists and won praise from media like NPR, Paste, American Songwriter and more. His combined streams on Spotify alone surpass 100 million, with an average of 1.3 million monthly listeners. It’s easy to see exactly why Johnson is a streaming giant. His songwriting—fusing conversational narratives with modern-folk textures in the vein of Gregory Alan Isakov, The Tallest Man on Earth, and Noah Gundersen—is rich in emotional detail.
Though Johnson may appear more settled than he ever has been—happily married, nurturing a burgeoning music career and newly relocated to Colorado—in many ways his endings only birth new beginnings and new questions about where all of this is even going. “What else is this life thing about?” Johnson muses. “How do I be a better version of myself? The EP is about feeling a little overwhelmed looking out at this.”
Stay tuned for more news from Canyon City.
