It’s taken Daniel Johns nearly 8 years to follow up Silverchair’s last studio album with his own long-promised solo work, which he debuted earlier this year via the sultry R&B inspired track Aerial Love. While it may have been an excruciating long wait for fans, Johns says it was necessary for him to spend time away and hone his craft.
“I don’t know how long it’s been, maybe seven years or something, but a good five years of that was spent trying different genres and trying different things in the studio,” explains Johns in a behind the scenes clip for the Aerial Love video.
“I was still writing a lot of music, I think I wrote 200 and something tracks – even more maybe. Just experimenting with sounds and different ways of making music until I finally hit on the sound that I thought was a good direction for my record.”
That sound seems to have been honed with the help of producer Joel Little, best-known for his work with Lorde and Broods. “I got really used to writing by myself for such a long time, but I was really ready to collaborate with people, especially people that I trusted and thought were really talented,” says Johns.
Johns also talks about the inspiration behind the NSFW Aerial Love video, directed by Lorin Askill. Johns recently shared the Ariel Love audio stems — including drums, vocals and bass — to SoundCloud for fans and budding producers to remix and share.
The Ariel Love track is taken from Johns’ upcoming four-song EP of the same name, set to drop on 13th March ahead of Johns’ first-ever solo album.
