My friends and I have just finished recording a new album called Sleep Through the Static. At this point in my life I weigh about 190 lbs and my ear hairs are getting longer. I also have a couple of kids. My wife popped them out, but I helped. Some of the songs on this album are about making babies. Some of the songs are about raising them. Some of the songs are about the world that these children will grow up in; a world of war and love, and hate, and time and space. Some of the songs are about saying goodbye to people I love and will miss.
We recorded the songs onto analog tape machines powered by the sun in Hawaii and Los Angeles. One day, JP Plunier walked into the studio and told us, "It has been 4 to 6 feet and glassy for long enough," and so we gave him a variety of wind and rain as well as sun and so on. And Robert Carranza helped to put it all in the right places.
After inviting Zach Gill to join Adam Topol, Merlo Podlewski, and myself on our last world tour, we decided to make him an official member of our gang. So our gang now has a piano player, which probably makes us much less intimidating, but Merlo, our bass player, is 6'3" so we are still confident.
All of these songs have been on my mind for a while and it is nice to share them. I am continually grateful to my wife who is typing this letter as I dictate it to her.
I hope you enjoy this album.
Mahalo for listening,
Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson Photos
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Thicker Than Water
Thicker Than Water
On And On
September Sessions
The September Sessions
Brushfire Fairytales
Jack Johnson recorded his fourth album using nothing but solar power. This is somehow fitting for a singer-songwriter, surfer, and filmmaker who spends most of his days floating in the ocean under Hawaii's open skies. The forces of nature certainly seem to have found their way into the mellow grooves of standout tracks like "What You Thought You Need," "Adrift," and "Go On," songs so lovely and effortless that you can almost hear the melodies coming to Johnson on a warm breeze that rustles through the coconut trees. Sleep Through the Static documents his best work to date, even better than the Curious George soundtrack. The sedate singer transforms the acoustic campfire strums of the past into sublime, soulful ruminations on his wife, kids, and the state of the world. He even manages to conjure up some real anger on the title track, which is hardly diminished by its lavish grooves and glistening harmonies. --Aidin Vaziri
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