CIRCLE & ARC

This first year of Circle & Arc’s emergence has been shaped by continual discovery. At times, our creative vision has come into focus. We’ve made clear decisions and taken steps to execute them. We’ve released 2 singles, an LP and an EP. While these steps have yielded a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, they’ve also yielded more questions: Who are we? Where are we going? What’s the next step?

For stretches of time, it can seem like we know which way we are stepping. Yet as we take each step, emergent conditions and circumstances shed new light on the place we find ourselves. We take in the territory. We pause, reflect, and then communicate with each other. We prioritize directness & transparency in our communication, which is not always easy, but our willingness to be honest with each other has yielded a foundation of trust in the creative process and in each other. We are continually discovering our creative direction and we're genuinely having fun along the way. 

The recent launch of our Patreon page has in many ways deepened our self-understanding and enriched our relationship with our craft. For the most part, the content we produced for Patreon emerged effortlessly and naturally. It felt like: this wanted to happen! It feels as if Circle & Arc is more fully itself in the world because of what we’ve offered in that space. It reveals a deeper glimpse into who we are and what we care about as artists, while (hopefully) offering something of genuine value amidst the turbulent times that we find ourselves in. We’ve done our best to make that space accessible to everyone, no matter what their financial situation, and we’d appreciate your help in spreading the word to anyone whom you think may be interested in what we’ve put together there (or anyone who simply wants to hear more of Circle & Arc’s music in the world).

As we close out 2025, we have a handful of stylistically eclectic songs we’re finishing up while drawing inspiration from chill house music for some of our newer songs. Thank you for sharing this journey with us - your presence means the world to us!

With Love,

Josiah & Mike

A Note From Mike:

Starting this project with Josiah has been a genuine gift in my life. I’d long been curious about exploring new avenues of musical expression, and as Circle & Arc took form over the last 16 months, it has been accompanied by an abiding sense of creative fulfillment.

Despite having had a long and exciting career as the lead guitarist of Lotus, the experience of creative fulfillment had become elusive for me. There were unmet longings and musical curiosities that beckoned me. Eventually, and somewhat begrudgingly, I admitted to myself that I needed a change in context - a foundational change - that would support my growth, not only as a musician, but also more holistically as a human being.

When my chapter with Lotus was finally complete, I took some time off from music to focus on my career as a personal coach and meditation teacher, and that’s actually the context where I first met Josiah. One month after my final performance with Lotus, in October of 2021, Josiah attended a 6 week meditation class that I was teaching online. I got to know him then and found we had a shared interest in exploring the nature of awareness through mindfulness meditation. We were both dedicated practitioners. A connection was established.

Fast forward 2 years, in September of 2023, I’d been focusing on exploring my voice as a songwriter and producer when Josiah sent me streaming links to his It’s Okay to Be Alone and Slow Burn EPs. I clicked on the links and found myself listening to his music on repeat. The music had an energy of transcendence combined with a nostalgic, haunting beauty. I felt inspired by what I was hearing and it occurred to me that we might have a musical connection as well. Just 4 days later, I sent him a message, “Would you have any interest in making some music together?” He said yes and our creative explorations (and experimentations) began soon after.

In future blog posts we’ll likely share more details about what the creative process was like for us, but for now, I’ll simply share that it was a crazy amount of fun to co-craft these songs with Josiah and we already have a lot more music in the works. This is only the beginning of our shared adventure and our intention is to keep listening and keep creating. If you are moved by the music, it would be an honor to share the continuing adventure with you.

A Note From Josiah:

I’ve often felt my best work as an artist has always existed. Meaning, the creative process for me is more like a process of discovering what already exists somewhere out there, versus actually creating something. The best songs arise spontaneously out of nothing, and eventually they crystalize into form through what feels like a will of their own. All I can really do is point my attention and intention, and then let go as much as possible to allow this to happen again and again.

Circle & Arc arrived with a similar unexpected quality and quickly took on a life of its own. Without much discussion as to what we were actually trying to achieve, Mike and I found ourselves completely engrossed in a year-long process of musical discovery… 

Then we came up for air with an album on our hands. 

The experience of making this music with Mike was, for me, something like the late David Lynch described in his book Catching the Big Fish: 

“The beautiful thing is that when you catch one fish that you love, even if it’s a little fish–a fragment of an idea–that fish will draw in other fish, and they’ll hook onto it. Then you’re on your way. Soon there are more and more and more fragments, and the whole thing emerges.”

Each song on our upcoming record came together in its own way. Sometimes, a song would appear almost fully formed. Other times, it was a process of figuring out how all the fragments might fit together. In either case, the experience of co-creating this record with Mike was constantly exciting and enjoyable. As if there was ever any doubt, he is not only an amazing musician, but an even better human being.

What’s most exciting is that this is just the beginning. We have a lot more music we are working on, and I’m extremely grateful to everyone who has already shown their support for this project. We have put a lot of love and care into this music, and our intention is that it will connect with and uplift anyone who is drawn to it. And as Mike has already said so well, if the music moves you, it would be an honor to share in this adventure with you. We can't wait to see where the music will take us next!