About

WHO IS ALEX JOHNSTON

Alex Johnston is a prolific singer-songwriter producing from his home in Everett, Washington. Inspired by the sonic spirituality of Sigur Ros, the abstract adventurism of Bon Iver, and the pop sentimentality of Coldplay, Alex Johnston’s music has been described as “deeply introspective, uplifting pensive, motivating and self-inquiring” as you look into “an aural kaleidoscope taking you to an ethereal plane,” guiding you with “a heartbreakingly and beautifully haunting voice” as you begin “a pilgrimage into the unknown, a journey that will leave you longing for more”.

Over the past years Alex began self producing his work at home in 2016 with 2 conceptual EPs entitled “Bright and Gray”. Since then, Alex has not relented his creativity and industriously produced 8 albums, 4 ambient collections, a Christmas album, a handful of singles, even quiet versions of his own songs. In 2022, he produced his music video for “Dizzy”, a glitchy and cathartic freespirited dance on a parking garage, and in 2023 produced a 37 minute visual album film for “Daylight Fooldream”, telling one story over ten songs about two versions of one person being guided to each other and to home with the help of their imagination. In 2024, Alex released his most grand album to date, “Hourglasser”, a fever dream of lows and highs infused with lush chaos that can only be described as cathartically beautiful. Over all, for a small independent artist working out of his bedroom, Alex Johnston has let his ambition roam wild, bringing him into territory he and others have not been, and has created a sonically expansive self referential universe of spirit and song.

Step inside Alex’s world but don’t forget yourself.

DIZZY MUSIC VIDEO

SONIC GUILD GRANT NOMINATION

In his Sonic Guild nomination video, Alex plays a synthy rendition of his song “Ghost” and talks about how his 9-5 job impacts the community.

DISCOGRAPHY

Daylight Fooldream

“Daylight Fooldream” (2023) is a concept album entertaining the thought of being able to jump between your everyday life and your imagination. This album captures longing for a life beyond your own but infused with acceptance. Music videos were made for each song creating a 37 minute visual album film with the aim of capturing the story of two different realities of one person being guided to each other and to home by their imagination.

Playfuls

“Playfuls” (2022) was a series of ambient singles made throughout one year inspired by random and serendipitous moments of musical sparks. These songs often feature samples of the real world, from random musical interactions, outdoor and indoor sounds, humming speakers, a person playing saxophone, and all the inspiration in between to take you to a reflective world where you can journey through yourself.

Maybe I’ll See You Tonight

“Maybe I’ll See You Tonight” (2022) was an experimentation in using the Teenage Engineering Pocket Operator drum machine to create a Postal Service inspired dance song. This song was accompanied by a quiet piano version that explores the themes of the lyrics in more depth.

DIZZY

Dizzy (2022) is a song that was written about burnout, yet the music video captures an ecstatic energy. Written over the course of the year, the music video was dreamed up in a drive home and filmed over the course of 40 minutes on top of an Everett parking garage, and wildly edited within 48 hours. Featuring outfit changes, distinct personalities, and a glitchy yet uniform conversation between personas (that ended up finding their way being referenced in the visual album film “Daylight Fooldream”), “Dizzy” has been a song that has resonated with many listeners, and has been played on Audioasis and 107.7 The End Locals Only radio shows and is a crowd favorite at Alex’s shows.

Missing Being Near You

“Missing Being Near You” (2022) is a Phoebe Bridgers-esque acoustic noir song about the joys of late nights and love between friends or lovers or both. This mellow vibe anticipated certain characteristics of Daylight Fooldream to come and expanded the mellow acoustic vibes of previous years work like “Little Impulses”, “Death On The Ground”, and the minimalism of “No Room For Form.

Little Impulses

Made only months after “Death On The Ground”, “Little Impulses” (2021) is an album as the title suggests. Most songs on this album were composed impulsively as Alex tried to shift his songwriting approach, singing the first words that came to mind with an emotive intent while recording. The recordings were then learned and rerecorded as live takes in Alex’s room to capture the intimate vibe of someone writing a song in front of you. With focus and intent, a little impulse goes a long way, as Alex’s process and discography shows.

Death ON The Ground

“Death On The Ground” (2021) was written spontaneously after a 10 day silent retreat during the month of October, and minimally recorded live on acoustic guitar. The aim of this album was to reflect on the eeriness of autumn, with Halloween and horror movie undertones haunting the lyricism centered around the impermanence of life. These intimate performances lend a lot to the imagination to ponder and reflect upon.

Chance Thoughts

Chance Thoughts (2021) was inspired by spontaneous improvisation on piano. This album was recorded live over two days in June to replicate the beautiful simplicity of Alex playing piano live in his living room. Some of Alex’s favorite music is piano centric ambient music and “Chance Thoughts” is Alex’s attempt to join the cloud of meditative journaling music that is both easy on the ears and enchantingly mesmerizing.

Upspiral

“Upspiral” (2021) is a 16 song expedition through Alex’s internal world. This massive endeavor of an album was produced throughout 2020 including a colorful variety of sonic landscapes to get lost in utilizing minimal ambience to grandiose layering, fusing the organic and the electronic in one memorable atmosphere. Alex wanted to make something huge about stepping into your own confidence and this daring endeavor of an album is a journey to listen through in one experience as you disappear into your own heart and spiral up a different person.

Colder Love

After having written the spontaneous “Find Christmas” album in the previous year, “Colder Love” (2021) was not only a songwriting break from “Upspiral” but an exploration of what it means to be cold as a human in the winter season. This minimal yet compelling album was produced in a month to be released before December arrived. Confronting themes of loneliness, companionship, and pondering spring in the midst of quiet cold, “Colder Love” was written to feel like a warm hug you will look back on fondly.

Dream Now My Love

Written during the production of “Upspiral” in 2020, “Dream Now My Love” is an colorful ambient album composed of solo piano songs, synthy drones made on the Teenage Engineering OP-1, phone recordings, and atmospheric journeys merging the organic and electronic, meant to be either a soundtrack to your quiet moments or an ambient album of immersion.

FIND CHRISTMAS

“Find Christmas” (2019) was made in the course of a month realizing there weren’t a whole lot of songs about the discomfort of the holidays. Many of the songs touch on the sadness, apathy, and trauma associated with holidays as well as anti-capitalistic sentiments longing for a more childlike approach towards the holidays.

“No Room For Form” (2019) is a piano centric album with subdued production exploring departure, grief, and rebirth. This album was greatly inspired by the minimalism of Sufjan Stevens’ “Carrie and Lowell” album, drawing the listener into the impressionistic yet personal lyrics in a restrained yet emotive soundscape.

Alex’s first full length album “Spinning Jewel” (2018) was an ambitious start to his discography after his “Bright and Gray” EP’s. An aural kaleidoscope and sonic pilgrimage, “Spinning Jewel” quite literally spins the listener around through an internal world of Alex’s colorful design, meant to bring you right back where you started but with a whole new perspective. “Spinning Jewel” set the standard high for the ambition Alex would live out in his exploration of himself as a songwriter and producer for years to come.