Calm Canopy's "Always Around" draws parallels between music and drug abuse

Canadian bedroom producer Mike Papaloni, aka Calm Canopy, has reached new sonic plateau with his second 2020 single "Always Around", a sunny mix of indie rock/pop textures.

Taking influences from indie mainstays like Broken Social Scene, Tame Impala, and Takuya Kuroda, Calm Canopy's sound is defined by tastefully layered eclectic and classic instrumental clouts.

A simple pulsating guitar riff guides the song through an ethereal, raw-edged vocal line supported by a punchy drum groove. Musically cracking and alive, the track develops in an uplifting manner—only to reveal a deeper note.

Papaloni said in a statement that he did intend the structure to "convey a darker story."

"'Always Around' is an expression of one's addictions—a substance, a relationship, a passion," he explained.

On the song, Papaloni assumes the role of somebody who seems distraught and worn out. "Lies, I'm telling lies to my friends/ when I'm hiding in my room alone with you again," he sings to himself rather numbly.

Released last month, the effort was written and recorded in March, right before the pandemic was in full swing. The brooding number, albeit suggestive of substance abuse, actually refers to Papaloni's "obsessive relationship to music" and that he only "wanted to write it in a way that drew parallels with drug addiction."

Papaloni believes that drug abuse is detrimental to one's ability to participate in the expectations of society: having a steady job, going out and socializing, commitments, etc.

Watch the official music video below. Check out also Calm Canopy's latest single, "Confines".

Sam Corrazza

Sam is a mediocre artist, musician, and the founder and editor in chief of UNXIGNED. He is a Juris Doctor who leads an excitingly boring life in the confines of his room juggling studies with passion and dreams. He is terrible at finding balance but gets by anyhow. He wants you to follow his artist pages and channels for when he decides to up his game. Pretty open for collabs and will mix your would-be hit song for cheap.