Athens-based lo-fi musician Elijah Johnston will host an album release show for his latest album “Strangers” on Jan. 9 with opening performers Annie Leeth and Lane Marie.
Johnston, a junior at the University of Georgia, said he’s excited for the release of “Strangers” because the album features the most personal music he’s written.
“I’ve put out songs in the past that have felt almost like a caricature,” Johnston said.
Although Johnston wrote some of his past music in a way to paint himself as “funny and interesting,” he said he decided to open up more in his new album, to the point where some of his songs still feel awkward to play in front of other people.
By taking a more personal approach to his songwriting, Johnston said he has allowed himself to express feelings which are difficult to communicate. In one of his new songs, “Find Your Bliss,” Johnston conveys his fear of losing people he cares about.
“It was scary because it was honest in a way that felt a little weird,” Johnston said. “But it was important to have it down, and now it’s easier to talk about that stuff.”
UGA senior Tommy Trautwein served as a producer and bassist for “Strangers.” Trautwein said all the songs on the album were written from the same emotional headspace, and he thinks the album captures the rawness of Johnston’s thoughts and feelings.
“There’s a lot of love songs, a few break-up songs, a few songs just about life and all the little things in between,” Trautwein said.
The recording process for the album wasn’t mapped out, and much of the production was improvised, Trautwein said. He said the free-flowing creative process allowed the songs to “become whatever they were going to become” in ways which hold true to the honesty of Johnston’s dominating theme — the importance of friends and relationships.
Johnston will play on Thursday, Jan. 9 at 8 p.m. at the 40 Watt Club. Admission costs $10.