The highly anticipated album is finally here, S.F. Johnson has just released ‘Digital Utopia’, a 10-track, nostalgia infused, forward looking project that tackles the struggles of the everyday, family, love, uncertainty, childhood and a good dose of existentialism, all cased within a hazy and lush soundscape that never fails to bewitch the audience. With the singles in the lead up to the project each gaining significant attention, Johnson is now set to blow with this project, with the gorgeous blend of fuzzy and clean, lush and gritty, guitars and synths, bass, keys, all coming together in harmonious fireworks. Whether he leans into the electronic elements in tracks like ‘Fall Right In’ or brings in octane-infused guitar anthems in the likes of ‘Blood Bath’, Johnson brings together dark sounds with an innate positivity and optimism, with the lyricism fuelling a hopeful twinge in the vocals.
Johnson wrote the tracks to life himself up, and continue through tough times, sharing, “When I’m struggling, the only way I know how to help myself is through a song. I wrote down all the themes I wanted to talk through with myself: starting with childhood, family, purpose, my relationships, trust, fear, the past, hope, our place in the modern world.”
Spending his 20s in Goodbye Chanel, the Leeds-based band now known as Modern Pleasure, the Newcastle Upon Tyne-born artist moved to Tokyo in late 2018. This fuelled his individualism, opening the door for the debut EP ‘Songs from an Empty Orchestra’, first showing audiences his own blend of ‘Motel Pop’. After a return to the UK and a move to London in 2022, ‘Digital Utopia’ is honest and introspective, the culmination of S.F. Johnson’s songwriting over the previous years.
‘Digital Utopia’ is available now, listen here:
