The longer this musical archive called The Influences excists, the more extensive sessions tend to become. It’s fun to film full band set ups and to make it work in often unusual settings and circumstances. Don’t get me wrong, I love it. But, to take two cameras, a tripod, a couple of microphones and the Zoom-recorder, and to walk into the woods near my house – where my then 3-year-old daughter Skye had scouted (and tested) the best spot earlier that morning – and film a bunch of songs with just a musician and his acoustic… You cannot go wrong. While my daughter and wife got to know his Mexican partner, Johnny Delaware recorded his The Influences session, playing three originals and a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s Tougher Than The Rest.
Johnny Delaware grew up in South Dakota, then spent his twenties on the road, before landing in Charleston, where in 2013 he released his debut, Secret Wave. He barely had time to enjoy it, as a side project he’d helped start, Susto, took off instead, and for the better part of ten years Delaware found himself on stages with The Lumineers and Band of Horses instead of behind his own songs.
It took until 2022 for the second Johnny Delaware record to arrive. Energy of Light, made after a move to Mexico City was followed two years later by Para Llevar. He recorded that one wherever he happened to be, in home studios in Mexico City, on the road, in hotel rooms across Latin America. All three original songs he played in this session for The Influences, are on Para Llevar.
On July 24th, he released On God’s Time, and the drifting has turned inward. Delaware wrote and produced the record himself, and he describes it as a cinematic meditation on mortality and meaning that’s firmly rooted in the spiritual realm of the cosmic drifter. The album reckons with death as a means of appreciating life, exploring love and loss and gratitude and regret through the eyes of a host of larger-than-life characters all navigating their way through a world of tragic beauty and infinite wonder. The album is available now, on cd and lp, and two songs are on streaming platforms. The digital album will be released on November 6th.
Photos
Credits
Filmed & edited by Matthijs van der Ven.
Audio recorded & mixed by Matthijs van der Ven.
Location
Huis ter Heide, The Netherlands
Thanks
Lorena
Skye
There is no better way to discover music than watching great musicians cover the songs they love. The Influences has been producing these videos ever since 2008.
Read more.
Keep watching
Thank you for watching and enjoying this session. You’ll probably like some other sessions from The Influences’ archive too, like these earlier ones we filmed.
-
Judy Blank
‘When I see The Wood Brothers play, I know: this is it. Seeing them makes it easier for me to not care about things. Fuck that shit, I’m doing what I want. You don’t like it? Well, that’s your problem buddy.’ Judy Blank played Randy Newman, The Wood Brothers covers, and ‘Mary Jane’ in her…
-
Erin Rae
I’ve been filming sessions for this website for twelve years. In all those years, there isn’t a singer I’ve heard more peers express their admiration off than Erin Rae. The Nashville based songwriter’s work is loved by many musicians I’ve filmed, and for years now, I’ve joined them. From 2015’s Soon Enough to 2018’s masterpiece Putting On…
-
Andrew Combs
It was January 29th 2015, when I first met American songwriter Andrew Combs. I was in the upstairs room in Paradiso Amsterdam and Justin Townes Earle had just finished his sound check, when all of a sudden, I heard this special voice over the PA. It was Combs, getting ready for his support slot that…
