Music on his mind

To people beyond the folk and roots cognoscenti, a new album from Texas-born Daniel Johnston may have little impact. But many recognise a unique talent and Johnston counts Tom Waits and Beck among his fans. Sunil Peck listens to his music and talks to him about his approach and his state of mind

Fans know Daniel Johnston as much for his depression as for his music.

His life and experiences were chronicled in a 2005 documentary, The Devil And Daniel Johnston. Widely seen as a sympathetic portrayal, it traces his dropping out from college, running away to join a carnival, trying to crash a plane his father was flying and his stays in psychiatric hospitals.

“They did exploit me a lot, you know; they always have. There’s nothing you can do about that. But press is good press, I like to say.”

Nevertheless, he does reflect on his depression in his music. Take the lyrics in the track “I Had Lost My Mind” on his latest album Is And Always Was:

I was sitting in the basement when I first realised it was gone. Got in my car, went right over to the lost and found. I said, “Pardon me, but I seem to have lost my mind.” She said, “Well, can you identify it please?” I said, “Why sure, it’s a cute little bugger, about yay big, a little warped from the rain.” She said, “Well then, sir, this must be your brain.” I said, “Thank you ma’am, I’m always losing that damn thing.”

Daniel has produced over 30 albums including songs covering, among other themes, his unrequited love for a former classmate Laurie, demons and Caspar the Friendly Ghost.

Born in 1961 and inspired by The Beatles, Daniel began to attract fans in the early 1980s when he used to record, illustrate and hand out cassettes of his songs in Texas. Artists including Beck and Tom Waits are fans, as was the now-deceased lead singer of Nirvana, Kurt Cobain, who was often seen wearing a T-shirt with the cover image from Daniel’s album Hi, How Are You.

To those and others in indie music circles, Daniel’s songs about love and loss are the work of a genius.

To the uninitiated, his songs can sound like the ramblings of a troubled soul. His vocals are sometimes piercing and the lyrics can seem out of sync with the guitar.

But everyone seems to agree that his music is raw and unproduced. When he plays in London at the beginning of April on his latest tour, he’ll be joined by a Dutch orchestra. Its use of brass and strings as well as drums and guitars will be a musical departure from his traditionally low-fi sound.

“Usually I just play my guitar. Then my friend will come out and play guitar and I’ll sing and then the band would join us. But we’ve got a trombone, saxophones: it’s hard to keep track. There was a lot of instruments. We had a practice a month or so ago. It was so cool. The rehearsal was a lot of fun and sounded great.”

When we talk, Daniel is taking a break at home in Texas where he lives with his parents. He is fresh from a tour of Australia and Japan and is about to go back on the road in Europe.

“It was a lot of fun travel­ling around. I got a pretty good response in Australia so that turned out alright.”

He is looking forward to visiting the UK again because his gigs are usually sold out.

“It’ll be the same old folk music, a little bit of rock ‘n’ roll, you know.”

Daniel has started taking different medication which is alleviating his depression. But is there therapy value in performing and touring as well? “It does help out to be doing something rather than just sitting around in the house,” he says.

Also artistic, Daniel loves drawing and is keen to combine more touring with producing more art in the future.

“I love to do comics and I hope to do some comic books some day, and I’ve had some offers. So I’ve been practising and trying to figure something to do some day.”

• Daniel Johnston plays London’s Troxy on 2 April