Melodic Canvas emerged from the deep woods of Northern Michigan in the fall of 2016 as the creative undertaking of musician and visual artist Evan Alderton.
An experimentalist at the core, his music contains a fusion of alternative rock and shoegaze, with shades of indie-folk. Melodic Canvas sonically echoes the angst-ridden era of the '90s and brings the fervid and visceral intensity into the modern-day.
Shadowy energy contained in the most recent single, “Pretentious Intentions,” has our sense heightened as we gear up to embark on a sonic journey filled to the brim with ominous hues in the mix. Melodic Canvas instantly sweeps you into a set of an enigmatic atmosphere augmented by the performance of sumptuous guitar riffs, colossal drum hits, and a tightly knit rhythm that evokes a mind-altering state of consciousness for their audience members to slip into.
The ethereal force field that wreaks havoc on the rehabilitated soundscape has us fervently admitting ourselves into a sedated chaos where we fixate upon the reverberated timbres echoing through the entrancing universe brought into play by Melodic Canvas. Pulling us in every which direction, the nature of the vitality effortlessly flowing from the auditory cup of Melodic Canvas is thought-provoking and encourages us to explore our mind in ways that we didn’t know were possible.
“Pretentious Intentions,” flexes the abstract songwriting skills of Evan Alderton as the wording stirs an emotive display of creative tenors. Taking from it what you will, the intellectual molding of the lyrics at hand allows the relatability to sit with each fan in a different manner as they tour various emotions locked within themselves. Melodic Canvas uses “Pretentious Intentions,” as a vessel to break through in a way that they have yet to discover.
Welcome to BuzzMusic, Melodic Canvas, and congratulations on the release of “Pretentious Intentions.” We love the mystery that shimmers in this body of work. With the lyrics touching on darker themes, what is the meaning behind the words scripted?
The idea of Pretentious Intentions started when I first began my journey as a musician. I started to notice that other artists and musicians would come across to me as fake and pretentious and it always really got under my skin. Then I started to second guess myself as an artist. Is this who I really am? Do I really mean the words I write or am I just playing the role of a depressed, pretentious musician? It haunted me for a long time and I sort of began to go crazy thinking about it as I wrote more songs. Then one day I penned down the words to Pretentious Intentions. It finally set that idea free in my mind. I didn’t want to falsely paint myself in light or lie about any reasons I would choose to express myself ever again.
Could you please take us into the creative process that brought this song to life? How did each person contribute to the sonic destination that “Pretentious Intentions,” landed upon?
For a long time, the song was always acoustic in my head. I wanted it to be a light, free, and reverb-sounding song. However, as I started to let the song marinate over time, it began to bear more weight sonically, and in the studio is really where the song became what it is today. Some things happened that I didn’t expect. Literally the day before laying down the lyrics in the studio, I added “I don’t wanna die” towards the end of the song. I felt that it needed to explode in some way and my recording engineer, Ryan, seemed to like the idea as well so we went with it. Little by little, we added new elements and the finished product ended up taking on a whole different form than what I had anticipated.
What musical and non-musical inspirations do you allow to shape the sounds that we hear in your music?
Musically, I find that my inspirations lie deep within the melody. When I hear a song for the first time, the melody is what almost always jumps out at me. So a lot of the time, while I am first starting to write songs, the melody depicts whether or not I’m going to stick to it or ditch it. On top of the melody, guitar shapes and chords really speak to me as well. I’m often attracted to dissonance and chords that may sound a little off at times. It just always sounds really interesting and nontraditional in a cool way. I find that nature is another key factor in what shapes my music. Nature brings to me so many different, visceral emotions.
What is the main message that you send out to your audience as a creative?
My main message that I want people to get from my music is just being yourself. Finding peace with yourself and with who you truly are and whatever you choose to express in life. I want the songs to be interpreted in whatever way the listener intends them to be.
What's next for you?
I have a new full-length record coming out this spring called “Sterile”. Sonically, It’s very much inspired by 90s alternative music, but at the same time, it’s bringing forth new, and unique spins on the genre. Some songs are super heavy both instrumentally and lyrically and others are softer and more down to earth. It took almost two years to put this album together and I’m so excited for people to finally hear it and hopefully be moved by it some way or another.