Los Angeles-based bassist and songwriter Daryl Johns releases two new singles, “Whoops” and “Barbecue In The Sun,” from his upcoming self-titled debut album, Daryl Johns, out November 22nd on Mac’s Record Label. “‘Whoops’ is the song that started it all,” says Johns. “Jazz boys in the Manhattan school of music dorms bored of playing acoustic jazz created a fusion of indie rock, Steely Dan, modern jazz and emo rock. This was the first one I wrote that kickstarted my writing style. Bubblegum jazz fusion emo indie, circa 2014.”

Meanwhile, “Barbecue in the Sun,” a “pocket bubblegum country song” according to Johns, evokes the Beach Boys or Frankie Valli. “I mean like sun creatures enjoying a BBQ on the surface of the sun,” Johns explains. “[I] thought of the title while listening to 80s pop music in headphones while running in the blinding sun, like being in that sun, and the drum beat had a bbq continuous slow cooking foreverness groove to it (like the drummer was the cook himself, barbecue dave, the anchor) while we bask like dancing diamonds… in the sun.”

Stream “Whoops” & “Barbecue In The Sun”
 

Daryl Johns writes euphoric pop music “of a certain Irish quality.” His earnestly hopeful TV show theme music, bent over the knee of New Jersey “diner rock”—his “pop for victory”—his “champion pop,” his “sped up pop”—sometimes his sunny “bubble gum country” or his coke-eyes “motivational jazz fusion”—all find their home on the artist’s self-titled debut, Daryl Johns. The record presents these musical landing-points in a cohesive 14-track collection: sugar-powered anthems for the everyman.

Since moving westward to join the band of the reigning king of indie rock, Mac DeMarco, Johns has found footing in a community of artists that includes DeMarco, 70s soft-rock revival band Drugdealer, and various new wave jazz musicians such as Pedro Martins and Chris Fishman. Of course, born to jazz musician parents—and with many celebrating Johns in earlier years as the foremost jazz upright bassist of his generation (having created a unique sound so far eluding imitation)—Daryl is still known and beloved for his performance and recording work with Pat Metheny, Martins, Vijay Iyer, The Lemon Twigs, Macy Gray, and Immanuel Wilkins, to name only a handful. He has steadily built notoriety as a solo artist; and, with this debut, Daryl Johns, Johns offers, “I just made it cuz I like it. I just wanna have fun.” He continues, “Let’s have a good time.” Somehow, methinks we

Pre-order Daryl Johns

Watch/Stream “I’m So Serious”

Watch/Stream “Happy”