Oh Canal is the solo project of New York-based singer/songwriter and producer Isaiah Egan. Known for his lush and evocative arrangements, Egan creates a sound that’s both vivid and haunting. Drawing inspiration from artists like Andy Shauf, Elliott Smith, and Grizzly Bear, his music strikes a careful balance between cyclical melodies and sharp, transportive textures—crafting a space that’s at once kind of cruel, kind of kind, and wholly one of a kind.
Isaiah’s childhood in the California Redwoods was filled with a strange blend of nu-metal, jam bands, folk, and funk. He was trained in clarinet from a young age (bonus points if you can spot them in his music), but he started to find his voice in songwriting and recording after he was gifted a loop pedal in high school. He began uploading demos to SoundCloud and played in college bands while studying sound synthesis and audio programming. Isaiah went on to release an LP in 2019 under the moniker “Moisey” shortly after moving to New York.
In 2024, Egan adopted his current moniker ahead of the fall release of “Ringsiders,” a dynamic LP that ventures into more angular, post-punk territory while retaining alt-rock and folk influences.
On his latest single, “Hanging My Head,” Egan delivers nimble melodies that beautifully juxtapose the chugging arrangement, which is just the first minute. The artist structured this song like an abstract sculpture with moving parts and captivating colors, allowing the arrangement to roam between heavy distortion and thudding drum patterns. While the arrangement guides you through a forest of post-punk chaos, Egan’s vocals are just as cartoonishly mobile. His melodies transition between hip-hop and rock influences alike, employing an infectious cadence but delivering it with rugged tones. At only two and a half minutes, Egan is able to make the most of his time on “Hanging My Head.” The new single is a sonic journey into dark tones and menacing melodies that feel restless and urgent without coming off as over-produced.
“I think a lot of us feel the anxiety that hangs over our day-to-day lives and the not-too-distant future. We talk about things like irreversible change and a ‘crumbling empire,’ but there’s an underlying sense of helplessness woven into all of it,” explains Egan. “Who’s responsible for this? How do we even begin to fix it? I wanted to explore those questions and the feelings that can drive us deeper into apathy or, worse, a kind of selfish abandon.”
