A nod to Daniel Johnston

I write a lot of songs. My circumstances have always found a way to force my creativity down my to-do list, this often leads me to feeling stagnant and frustrated. I’m also an impatient person - especially when it comes to writing songs. As soon as I’ve finished writing one, I’m straight onto the next. So, what tends to happen is; I record something in a rush, release it with no real plan and, because I hate doing promo, the reception is look-warm at best. This cycle is no fun. I want to have fun, and hopefully take a few of you with me. This is where Daniel Johnston comes in.

For those of you unfamiliar with him. Here’s what Wikipedia says:

Daniel Dale Johnston (January 22, 1961 – c. September 11, 2019) was an American singer, musician and artist regarded as a significant figure in outsider, lo-fi, and alternative music scenes. Most of his work consisted of cassettes recorded alone in his home,and his music was frequently cited for its "pure" and "childlike" qualities.

I got really into him during lockdown and was fascinated by his early recordings. Rough, warped and almost illegible at times but absolutely beautiful. What I love about them is that there’s nowhere to hide when recording this way, no vocal comping, no reverb, no ‘shit I fucked that bit can we try again?’ It’s imperfection at its finest. He would record full-length albums in this way and hand out cassettes to people at shows for free. (His middle name is Dale which is also a nice wee coincidence)

I want to do a modernised version of this. Instead of using a tape recorder, I’ll use my voice note app. Instead of handing out tapes, I’ll post songs here. I want to do this regularly - I’m not going to say weekly, but I think it will be near enough. Who knows, maybe once a year I could do a cassette release if there’s the want for it. 

Asking for a friend

Busy

Lucifer's christmas

Sick

Am absolutely fulla crisps

Family man

Shite

Am I doomed

placebo

Dale is a singer-songwriter based in Glasgow, Scotland.

hago rolas segun como m siento cuando toco mi compu

New tracks tagged #antifolk