Far Caspian

The Arc of Far Caspian

The pivots — what forced Far Caspian to reinvent.

1. 01

   The Leeds Basement Tapes

   Between Days and The Heights were the product of Johnston figuring out how to make a small room sound like a cathedral of reverb. He was handling almost every instrument himself, leaning on the jangle of the 80s but burying it under layers of modern digital delay and thick vocal harmonies. This era defined the 'lo-fi' sound that got him millions of streams, characterized by a certain polite melancholia that felt perfect for headphone listening. It was the sound of a producer mastering the art of the bedroom pop formula before he got bored with it.

2. 02

   The Post-Dream Isolation

   With Ways To Get Out, the production widened and the influences shifted toward the heavier textures of the 90s. He moved the operation back to a rural studio in Ireland, trading the tight Leeds bedroom sound for something that felt more like a physical space with real air moving around. The tracks got longer and the guitars got dirtier, moving away from simple hooks toward sprawling, atmospheric arrangements that felt like a slow-motion collapse. You hear a guy finally comfortable with making the listener work a little harder for the payoff.

Influences

• The Cure — Johnston has repeatedly cited Robert Smith’s guitar work as the primary blueprint for his own use of chorus and flanger pedals. You hear it in the interlocking melodic lines on 'Blue' that mirror the Disintegration-era layering. It’s that specific 'sad but danceable' frequency they own.
• Cocteau Twins — The heavy reliance on wash and the way vocals are treated as just another instrument in the mix comes straight from Robin Guthrie's production style. On tracks like 'Astoria,' the guitar isn't just a lead—it's a shimmering wall of noise that obscures the rhythm section. It’s the sound of texture over lyricism.
• Broken Social Scene — Johnston pointed to the Canadian collective's ability to make chaotic, multi-instrumental arrangements feel cohesive as a major influence on his later, denser work. The sprawling nature of 'Ways To Get Out' mimics that 'You Forgot It in People' philosophy of stacking parts until they nearly break. He took their maximalist approach and applied it to his solo tracking sessions.
• The Radio Dept. — The Swedish group’s blend of harsh noise and sweet pop melodies is the literal foundation of the Far Caspian sound. He’s mentioned their lo-fi ethos as the reason he felt comfortable keeping the tape hiss in his early demos. It gave him the license to be messy while staying melodic.
• Elliott Smith — The double-tracked vocal style Johnston uses across his entire discography is a direct nod to Smith's signature studio technique. It provides that intimate, whispered quality that makes the songs feel like they're being told to you in confidence. It’s the only way he knows how to make a large-scale production feel small again.