Sometimes an album is so much more than just a release. Take John Butler’s new meditation record Running River (out today) for example. It’s the first part of a proposed four part album series he’s calling the Four Seasons. Running River is the sound of an artist healing himself. After touring the world for so long and then coming to a sudden halt due to covid … and the music industry goal posts changing before his eyes, with streaming making it difficult to make a buck … and then his trio disbanding … it was all becoming too much for the multi-talented artist. Adding to that he was giving palliative care to his dying father in his home, while at the same time his wife was looking after her dying father on the other side of the country. John’s upbringing was tough, due to his father’s violent tendencies, so the grief John was going though with the passing of his dad was complex. To put it bluntly, John had become a broken man. He didn’t want to deal with humans anymore and even now, is not sure if he’s ready to enter back into the fray entirely. His only way out was to begin to heal and he started the process through the creation of this beautiful drone-like music he has created for the Running River album.
I caught up with John Butler over a zoom call to talk about the new ambient meditation album Running River and found a fragile human, baring his soul in one of the most honest and open interviews I’ve ever been involved in. You can watch it here.
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