Addi John Breaks Emotional Ground With New Single “These Walls”
With a voice that feels both familiar and fresh, London, ON-born, Windsor, ON-based singer-songwriter Addi John steps confidently into a new chapter with his single “These Walls,” out now. The track glows with indie folk warmth and a heartfelt honesty that has quickly become Addi’s trademark—a sound built for open skies, long drives, and quiet moments of reflection.
Addi crafts songs for the hopeful and the wanderers. His music invites listeners to find stillness in the storm, and his storytelling carries a rare emotional transparency. After years of touring the world with his award-winning band Lost in Japan, Addi found new creative freedom in solitude—building his own studio in the countryside and rediscovering his voice as both artist and producer.
“These Walls” captures that rediscovery. Written, produced, and composed entirely by Addi himself, the song represents a deeply personal moment of vulnerability.
“I wanted to write something that reflected how I was really feeling, not just what sounded upbeat,” Addi shares. “Being on tour can feel lonely even when you’re surrounded by people. This song came from confronting that feeling head-on.”
The track unfolds with gentle acoustic textures, layered harmonies, and subtle percussive warmth—a sonic palette that recalls the intimacy of artists like Gregory Alan Isakov and Ben Howard. Addi’s production carries his signature minimalist touch, letting space and silence speak as loudly as his words. Each note feels intentional, guiding the listener deeper into his world.
At its core, “These Walls” explores the distance we create to protect ourselves. Addi sings, “Maybe I’m lonely, maybe I’m alone because these walls…” —a lyric that turns inward, inviting empathy instead of isolation. The song reflects not despair, but acceptance—the understanding that healing comes through honesty and openness.
In speaking about the song’s inspiration, Addi reflects,
“I think a lot of people will relate to putting up emotional walls without realizing it. For me, writing this song helped me take those walls down. It’s about letting people in, even when it feels hard.”
That sentiment flows through his performances—where the connection between artist and audience feels unbreakable.
“These Walls” also carries a quiet resilience born from personal growth. Following the loss of his father, Addi found himself turning to music as both a refuge and renewal. Every melody feels like a step toward light—a way to share grief through beauty, and to remind others they’re not alone in their own process of healing.
Addi’s evolution from band frontman to solo storyteller has earned him growing recognition across Canada. His debut album ‘Another Way To Love’ introduced listeners to his blend of introspection and optimism, while his work as a self-taught producer led to a nomination for FCLMA Producer of the Year. With “These Walls,” he cements himself as a defining voice in the modern indie folk landscape.
As folk music continues its resurgence across streaming platforms and festival stages, Addi John stands poised to join a new generation of Canadian voices reshaping the sound of authenticity.
“I just want people to feel seen in the music,” he says. “If someone listens and feels less alone, then I’ve done what I came to do.”
Hi, Addi! Good to meet you! Care to introduce yourself to the readers for those not familiar with your music?
Hey! I’m Addi John. An entirely DIY songwriter/ producer from southwestern Ontario. I make sad songs and sing-alongs. My music has always been to catch the feeling of familiar but new. I take inspiration from artists such as City and Colour, Ed Sheeran, Noah Kahan, Two Door Cinema Club, as well as Half Moon Run. I have been releasing music for just under a year now, and in this time, I have released a record, plus two singles, as well as a cross-Canadian tour. I have no intentions of slowing down!
You’ve gone from fronting Lost in Japan to building songs alone in the countryside. What surprised you most about hearing your own voice without the noise?
The change was drastic in terms of how I picked what songs should be recorded and released. With Lost in Japan, the majority of the time we would write our music in a way where we would bring little ideas to a band practice and jam them out, or I would have a song written and let the band write their parts to the frame of my song. We could usually tell on the spot what was good and what wasn’t. Now with my solo project, I have found I am writing more than I have before; however, I am much more critical with evaluating what I want to release. Before, I had 4 other people telling me “hey, I like this idea,” to now just me listening by myself. It was really quite surprising to find out how the way I naturally write a song when I’m not writing with the intention of others adding to it. It’s honestly a great feeling, but it also comes with some hesitation.
“These Walls” is both vulnerable and hopeful. Was there a moment in writing it when you realized you’d said something you weren’t ready to say out loud yet?
I’m glad you see the message I was trying to share! You totally nailed it. Vulnerable and hopeful is exactly what I want my songs to be. The feeling that things will get better even in the worst of times. Personally, when writing this song, I felt like I was being “too vulnerable”. I was worried that my listeners might see me as someone who pushes people away. But I felt because of where I am in life, it’s important to talk about feeling lonely. It’s a fundamental human worry to be anxious about loneliness, and because I was feeling this way due to Lost in Japan breaking up, my father passing, as well as my brother and mother moving away to different countries, it was something that I was really feeling and needed to get out.
You mentioned the loss of your father shaping this chapter. How did grief change your understanding of what it means to write honestly?
Grief has changed me not only as a songwriter but as a person. We don’t always realize how special life truly is. We don’t get to say everything we want to say to some people in our lives. When my dad passed, I really just wanted to make people happy. I wanted to be making music for people who went through some real shit, but need to hear a message that someone else understands. I find I am much more aware of the messages in my songs now. I am also not writing or making music with the intention to “become famous” or anything like that. I am just writing because it’s what I want to do with my life. Grief really showed me what was special and what I have; unfortunately, life showed me this after taking my father’s presence for granted.
Folk music’s having a renaissance right now. Where do you see yourself within that wave of artists reshaping what authenticity sounds like?
I’ll go one even further, I think music in general is having a renaissance! There are so many musicians now because it’s never been easier to make a song and put it out. I see myself going with the flow of wherever my music takes me. Whether that be playing big tours or just performing local concerts, I am happy that I am able to release music and have fans that are listening. I love folk music and I think there’s a great community around it, which is definetily something I am proud to be a part of. However, I don’t think I am at my core only a folk artist. I change my sound based on my surroundings. It’s something I struggle with if im being honest. At my core I am a song writer and I write for multiple different genres and thats why I think my previous recorded stuff all sounds so different from each other. People either love it or hate it but it’s just how I write!
For instance, my next single is a pop banger coming out early 2026!
Addi John will bring his heartfelt songs to the stage this winter and spring with a series of intimate live shows across Ontario:
• December 4 – London, ON – London Music Hall with Virginia To Vegas
• February 5 – Waterloo, ON – Maxwell’s
• February 6 – London, ON – Wolf
• February 7 – St. Catharines, ON – Warehouse
Connect with Addi John:
Website
Bandcamp
Facebook
Instagram
TikTok