Canyon City Shares “Like The Stars Shine” From Upcoming EP ‘Circling The Sun’
October 20, 2020 BY Nettwerk
Modern folk artist and producer Paul Johnson, aka Canyon City, shares a new song called “Like the Stars Shine” from his upcoming EP and Nettwerk debut, Circling The Sun, set for release December 4th. The inviting folk ballad focuses on how easy but often over-complicated it can be to be there for someone. Paul explains, “The first verse expresses a sort of lostness and doubt over the right next steps, but then the chorus is a revelation that some of the most magnificent things in life are effortless. It ends with the realization that the beauty can come naturally, and you can give yourself a break from all the effort and carried weight.”
The accompanying music video delivers a sense of nostalgia and warmth, given that the footage is largely Paul’s home-video compilation of the last two years of mostly pre-pandemic life, including his first two years of marriage, cross-country moves, touring, and the magnetism of the outdoor spaces found in Colorado, Tennessee, New York, Minnesota, Ireland, England and Paris.
He adds, “Both figuratively and literally, what I think the video’s creators (Aaron Holmes, Thomas Gentry & Julia Gentry) captured is the feeling of setting out on a fresh journey. The theme of the music is about re-connecting with the rhythms of the natural world and bringing what’s learned there into the rhythms of your relationships, and in this time of constant change, it’s something I’ve tried to come back to when I need some stability. Exploring these beautiful spaces was a true honor, and it further inspired me to try to do what I can to be a good neighbor to them.”
Circling The Sun is a warm, inviting and sweetly cinematic EP primarily written and produced in household settings, save for a bit of recording at the local Library. 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.
