AnchorShopPresents.com chops it up with the youngin’ John River.

By: Braxton Wignall (@maverickhippy)

Whenever I get the chance, I make sure to see John River live and support him as best I can. He is a young, humble, modest, and critical artist from Mississauga, whom with I have developed a friendship through community organizations and mutual friends. The last time we ran into each other ahead of his set at Studio Bar during this year’s CMW, I made sure to document our conversation. I’ve never really had the chance to sit down and speak with him for too long so his responses to my questions were as new to me as they are to you.

What was the last project you worked on?

The Storm, which is finished now, it just hasn’t come out yet. It will be out hopefully by early September.

What’s the story behind The Storm? Where did the inspiration come from? Did anything happen between your last project and this project that changed and put your creative energy in a better or worse place?

The Storm is like a big evolution. The first project was called The Calm so the The Storm is like the calm before the storm. Essentially it’s just a lot more sounds. We tried to progress ­­–– from a musical standpoint –– to go a lot deeper and just really make it like a lot fucking doper.

You have been performing a lot over the last couple years, really getting your name out and learning as you go, working on projects and working hard on your craft. How has that helped you grow as a person and of course as an artist?

I think growing as a person really helps make the projects better. The music is a derivative of your own personal character. Performing (and all that shit) helped me a lot because as you said, you have to learn as you go. Some shows there’s five people, some shows there’s five hundred and you’ve got to bust your ass every time regardless –– it’s your craft so you take pride in it.

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