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BEING DANIEL JOHNS

from Façon Australia Summer 2021

from Façon Australia Summer 2021, page 66

CHARLIE COLLINS: Out of the Bl...

IT MAKES SENSE FOR DANIEL TO STEP UP, TAKE BACK HIS POWER, AND PROUDLY DEFINE HIMSELF.

Singer, artist, guitarist, songwriter, frontman, Novocastrian? You’d be better off asking who Daniel Johns isn’t. Since being on the stage in the early ’90s with his wildly successful band Silverchair, Daniel’s had a career stretching from loud basement punk gigs to edgy synthwave art pop shows. In between all this time his many facets of expression have led him to countless creative corners of our world’s musical landscape, none of which could be defined in a simple answer – you don’t go on that journey without a few interesting stories to tell, and moments of personal discovery.

So hours could be spent answering the question “who is Daniel Johns?”. In fact, hours have been spent answering this question by Daniel himself in the aptly titled Spotify exclusive podcast Who Is Daniel Johns?

Who is Daniel Johns? is a deep dive into the life and times of one of the most successful, controversial and enigmatic artists in Australian music history. As someone who does not give many interviews, the five-part documentary podcast gives Daniel the chance to tell his story as he addresses the tough questions that have surrounded his career. The season will then end with a series of bonus episodes where Daniel has 1:1 conversations with the key figures in his life, collaborators and luminaries including Natalie Imbruglia, Kevin Parker of Tame Impala and Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins. Actor Guy Pearce also features in the series, providing a short intro to each episode.

Throughout his life in and out of the limelight, Daniel’s been subject to a multitude of diverse experiences that have raised many questions about his life and career. With this career embroiled in fame and controversy, many have considered it their place to define Daniel themselves, based on the one per cent of his life that’s heavily filtered and shown to the world. It makes sense for Daniel to step up, take back his power, and proudly define himself.