Daniel Johnston was born in 1961 in Sacramento. Mr Johnston was a painter, singer, pianist and guitarist, who could be considered a Pop/Folk/Rock artist in a style that he invented himself called, Lo-Fi. Hypersensitive to the very tips of his fingers, along with Syd Barret and Rocky Erikson, his music is unique. His soulful work and art have enlightened and touched many followers .
His songs are a constant flow of emotions that are woven with poetry and humour and his music is brimming with profound and intense sensibility; a true witness to authenticity. In his first album “Songs of Pain” in 1981, he put together his first trials.
When he was not walking the cow in the devil town, Daniel Johnston tours and performs. In 2010 he was playing with the Beam Orchestra and touring Europe. Mr Johnston self published most of his albums and the themes are recurrent: love, the devil, death, King Kong, Captain America, Casper the friendly ghost or the Beatles. I was fortunate to see him live in 2010. I would not have missed his concert for all the music in the world and even scored a front row seat so I could bring this souvenir. A memorable concert.
Mr Johnston seemed weary and not in peak form that evening, even though his performance remained stellar. If you are unfamiliar with this artist, investigate deeper and join the crowd of fans with Sonic Youth, Kirk Cobain or Tom Waits…
Here is a link to begin your investigation : http://www.hihowareyou.com
Inspired by the artist and his music, Antoine Fraval created a happening mixing various inspired sources. We worked together for a day and created this little video for you to enjoy.
Artiste : Antoine Fraval
Soundrack : Daniel johnston – the story of an artist
Studio courtesy : pamelamoulton.com
Production : www.espritvoyageur.net
Based on the song from “The Story of An Artist” from Daniel Johnston, Antoine Fraval, a French performer and myself decided to mix, in a very simple way, the prolific world of this iconoclast artist with his peers, and make his words resonate with the fragility and poetry that he inspired us. Body and paper translate literally, or not, in French, certains of his assumptions with a sense of humor. Notice the presence in the background of Serge Gainsbourg, and of course the allusion to Bob Dylan’s first musical video that revolutionized at the time the music industry.A minimal choreography, and the poetry of Master Johnston, through the work of Antoine and his interdisciplinary approach of Art.
