Espialist

Mike Wall didn't come from a musical family. However, even without a clear musical influence at home during his childhood, music found him. It stuck with him through years of playing hard-and-heavy music shows all through the New England underground, and a move to Montreal, QC, Canada from Rochester, NY at 23 years old. It stuck with him through his rediscovery of contemplative song writing. His desire to strike out on his own would eventually become his work in Espialist. 

Beginning with the first official release, the Somnambule EP (recorded in a down to earth one take fashion) tells stories of a daydreamer's reasoning and draws inspiration from observations of the human condition and personal experiences.

Reminiscent of the solo work of Mark Kozelek, Neil Halstead, Nick Drake, or Ryan Adams, his melodies mostly acoustic, but with shoegaze, post-rock, and ambient flavors.

Mike has been there and back with sonic limits, and while his new sounds are on the light side, one can't help but notice a quality between the notes that his experience has infused into his writing process.

Not necessarily inspired by a normal “verse / chorus / verse" song structure, he feels just as at home expressing his materiel in a “vignette de pensee” fashion, as he does in expressing himself with long, slow-burning songs.

A US citizen living in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Mike began playing shows under the pseudonym Espialist in fall 2013 and has so far played shows around Quebec, in Ontario, and is currently in the process of booking a small Northeast US tour for late July 2016. A new release is planned for early summer 2016 and promises a more expansive electric sound that will also be brought to live performances.