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Chuck Johnson is a California-based composer, producer, and musician. He approaches his work with an ear towards finding faults and instabilities that might reveal latent beauty, with a focus on pedal steel guitar, experimental electronics, alternate tuning systems, and composing for film and television. Recordings of his work have been published by Western Vinyl, VDSQ, Thrill Jockey, Temporary Residence, Kompakt, Ghostly, and Three Lobed, among others.
Between 2011 and 2015 Johnson released a triptych of solo guitar LP’s – A Struggle Not A Thought, Crows in the Basilica, and Blood Moon Boulder – that have become touchstones of 21st Century acoustic guitar. Balsams, his first album to platform pedal steel guitar, was described by Pitchfork as “singular,” and “a mournful hymn built out of layers of sliding strings, cascading with a zenlike stateliness…” In 2019 he collaborated with Marielle V. Jakobsons to release their debut LP as Saariselka for Temporary Residence Ltd. The follow-up to Johnson’s acclaimed Balsams LP, The Cinder Grove delves further into the compositional possibilities of the pedal steel guitar in the context of chamber ensemble arrangements for strings, organ, and piano.
On his latest album Sun Glories, Johnson explores themes of time, memory, and illusion through his unique blend of pedal steel, synths, organs, strings, and drums. Pitchfork wrote about the album “A lot of ambient artists are embracing the pedal steel right now, but none are quite as willing to jettison the instrument’s readymade associations as Johnson.” And All Music Guide wrote “Sun Glories is a magnificent record displaying Johnson’s mastery of multiple instruments and techniques.”
Johnson’s credits as a film composer include scores for the HBO series Burden of Proof and the popular PBS shows Somewhere South and A Chef’s Life. In 2009 he received an MFA in Electronic Music and Intermedia Art from Mills College, where he studied composition and electronic music with Pauline Oliveros, Maggi Payne, Chris Brown, John Bischoff, Laetita Sonami, and James Fei.
His work as a mixing and mastering engineer includes releases by Room40 records, No Quarter, Three Lobed Recordings, Temporary Residence, Bill Orcutt, Allison Russell, Nathan Salsburg, claire rousay, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Daniel Bachman, Body/Head, and more.
