Vancouver songwriter Joshua Hyslop has been carving out his niche in the Canadian music world with a series of tours and short-form releases. Now, the British Columbia singer-guitarist is ready to release his debut full-length, Where the Mountain Meets the Valley, which will be out digitally on May 15 and in stores on July 3 courtesy of Nettwerk Records.
To give us a taste of the new record, Hyslop has already shared the album track "Do Not Let Me Go," which was inspired by a recent near-death experience in India where the songwriter was led out into the desert to die so that a travel guide could take his money and belongings. Also, according to Hyslop, this wasn't his only recent brush with death.
In a statement, Hyslop had this to say of the album's turbulent genesis: "I live in a valley surrounded by mountains. It's beautiful. But it also became a metaphor for the highs and lows of my own life, and how dramatic they can be. In the last year, I've been close to death twice, I've lost 45 pounds, I've been very very low, the worst I've ever been. But, at the same time, I got signed to a record label and I got to travel the world; I saw things that I'd never get to see normally. So, it's been an incredibly up year and an incredibly down year. And that's really the dynamics of life."
Watch Hyslop explain the frightening inspiration behind the single "Do Not Let Me Go" in the video clip below, which also includes a stripped-down acoustic performance of that tune.
Below that is the studio-produced version of that track, which fleshes out the acoustic strums out with cello, drums and other low-key touches.
To give us a taste of the new record, Hyslop has already shared the album track "Do Not Let Me Go," which was inspired by a recent near-death experience in India where the songwriter was led out into the desert to die so that a travel guide could take his money and belongings. Also, according to Hyslop, this wasn't his only recent brush with death.
In a statement, Hyslop had this to say of the album's turbulent genesis: "I live in a valley surrounded by mountains. It's beautiful. But it also became a metaphor for the highs and lows of my own life, and how dramatic they can be. In the last year, I've been close to death twice, I've lost 45 pounds, I've been very very low, the worst I've ever been. But, at the same time, I got signed to a record label and I got to travel the world; I saw things that I'd never get to see normally. So, it's been an incredibly up year and an incredibly down year. And that's really the dynamics of life."
Watch Hyslop explain the frightening inspiration behind the single "Do Not Let Me Go" in the video clip below, which also includes a stripped-down acoustic performance of that tune.
Below that is the studio-produced version of that track, which fleshes out the acoustic strums out with cello, drums and other low-key touches.
