It was less than a year ago that cult songwriter Daniel Johnston passed away, and lately we’ve seen a second wave of homages to the Austin-based songwriter following the tributes that poured in immediately after his death. Everyone from Death Valley Girls to Built to Spill to Supreme have honored the lo-fi innovator with songs (and flannels) celebrating Johnston’s unique style—the latest of which arrives today from Tenlons Fort, the recording alias of screenwriter and artist Jack Gibson.
As the latest installment of LaunchLeft’s Launched Artists Digital Single Series, Gibson provides a meditative—and very Johnston-esque—piano ballad complete with an accurate replication of the titular Dan’s childlike vocals, which will appear on Tenlons Fort’s forthcoming album Sober October.
“It was an honor to record ‘Hey Dan’ and the songs for the Sober October album with Larry Crane at Jackpot! Recording Studios in July 2019,” Gibson shares. “It had been a dream of mine for fifteen years. ‘Hey Dan’ was written in September 2018 while reflecting on the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend a few days in Waller, Texas with Daniel Johnston.”
Watch the video below, and revisit more songs from the Launched Artists Digital Single Series here.
