Interview with Daniel John

Having featured Daniel John‘s rather excellent “Pixel Queens” in a recent CM Selects Indie/Rock posts we jumped at the occasion to shoot some questions back and forth with the Pennsylvania based artist.

It went a little like this:

Cougar Microbes: What time did you wake up today? Was it out of choice or necessity?

Daniel John: I woke up around 07:00 AM. I have a hard time sleeping in regardless of when I went to bed. I wouldn’t say it’s out of necessity but I certainly don’t have much control over it. It just happens.

CM: Describe your sound to the uninitiated?

DJ: Probably Indie rock mixed with a little bit of electronic instrumentation. Everything is a performance of sorts – I don’t delve too much into software instrumentation. I’m a one-person operation. So everything is performed and mixed by me. It has its benefits but sometimes I wish I knew what I was doing better.

CM: What have you been working on recently?

DJ: I started writing just to write with no plan. I’ve been recording all sorts of ideas and it’s exciting to not really know where it’s all headed. I used to always have a plan but this time I’m trying to let it take me wherever. Could be another EP or another album. Either way I’m mainly trying to focus on the work being creatively fulfilling. I get a little tired of falling into the same musical tropes. Just trying to embrace the weirdness more.

CM: So far, what have been your favourite venues to play? Any venues you hated?

DJ: This is a question I hope to revisit in the future! I have yet to really play any venues. I released my first album in the fall of 2019 and put off assembling a band to play live. Then the pandemic hit. The focus has mainly only been writing and recording for now.

CM: What is the songwriting process like for you? Are you able to write on the go or do you prefer to write at home/ in the studio?

DJ: A lot of my songs start off on guitar but it’s something I’ve been trying to work against. Breaking my habits usually brings new ideas or new approaches. Writing can really happen anywhere though. I run often and I’m always surprised how much comes to mind while I’m running. I often have to type in my notes app as soon as I get home to remember it all. Probably half of my music happens accidentally. The other half is by showing up every day and making an effort.

CM: Do your songs go through many revisions via demo recordings?

DJ: I usually start a song and finish it in the same project file. It’s pretty apparent though when something doesn’t work. The hardest part is getting out of my own way. The endless possibilities can be overwhelming. Some songs happen all at once and I don’t have to fight it. Others will go through endless revisions and approaches. The only thing they have in common is the feeling that I haven’t accomplished what I originally set out to do.

CM: What comes first, the lyrics or the melody?

DJ: The melody most often comes first. Sometimes I come up with phrases or lines that I apply down the road but I have a hard time writing words without a road map. I need to feel strongly enough about the music in order to take myself seriously. Having the music first guilt trips me into writing better words. I’m afraid of doing a disservice to the music. It’s also the same reason I have songs without words.

CM: What is your favourite track by yourself and why?

DJ: My favorite tracks are usually whatever I’m currently working on. However, my favorite from my previous releases would have to be “Like Unending Heaven.” In the past I would always have a tendency to add too much to a project. It was the first time I felt like something had room and stood on its own if you stripped it away. It has a quality to it that I had been chasing for a while.

CM: If you could record any cover what would it be?

DJ: “Rocky Mountain Raga” by Robbie Basho. I’m primarily a guitar player and discovering his music was a joy. The song is so grand, and you could hear the emotion in his playing. It would be a challenge to put my own spin on it.

CM: What is the most flattering thing you have read about yourselves?

DJ: I really don’t receive enough press to have a memory of one flattering thing. Any coverage is lovely, really. The write-up of my song “Pixel Queens” by Cougar Microbes was flattering.

CM: What was the first record/tape/cd you ever bought?

DJ: The first CD I purchased was “A Rush of Blood to the Head” by Coldplay. It defined a large part of my childhood.

CM: What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

DJ: The last song to get stuck in my head was “Simulation Swarm” by Big Thief. Really looking forward to the new album.

CM: What was the last show you paid and queued up for?

DJ: It has been quite a long time since I’ve been to a show. I had tickets to see LCD Soundsystem at Brooklyn Steel back in December, but the band cancelled the show due to an increase in COVID cases. The last show before that was The National at the Mann Center in Philadelphia in 2018. Phoebe Bridgers opened. I should really get out to more shows.

CM: Are there any other bands/artists from your local scene we really should know about?

DJ: I haven’t really kept up with the local scene as I’ve gotten older. I knew members of Title Fight growing up but didn’t really identify with that style of music at the time. I ran into Jamie on my college campus years ago and it was funny to hear him talk about the life I wish I was living. I’m sure there’s a lot I haven’t kept up with, though. I have a friend from high school who releases music under the name “Noxen.” I enjoy his music and he’s still around Northeastern, Pa. It’s atmospheric and pretty stuff.

CM: If you had to bring one artist back from the dead in exchange for sending a living artist down, which artists would it be and why?

DJ: If we’re talking someone who passed recently then I’d have to say David Berman. I wasn’t that knowledgeable of his work until I heard of his passing. It caused me to dig into his discography and the Purple Mountains album he left us with was amazing. I wish he was able to tour that album and record more music. I’d exchange him with Eric Clapton or any other irrelevant conspiracy theorist whack job.

CM: Any parting comments?