News Daughn Gibson: ‘I Was Kinda Hammered When I Made The Record’

There have been few more enigmatic artists to emerge in 2012 than Daughn Gibson. The music Gibson makes is quite unlike anything else around. Former long distance trucker, Gibson’s powerful, richly detailed songs are equal parts country music and equal parts sparse electronica. At ones he seems to straddle easily the vast divide between Burial and Scott Walker. It is an extremely interesting collision of disparate sounds. DIY caught up with Gibson to find out a bit more about his earlier life, his breakthrough debut album ‘All Hell’ and his plans for the future after signing with seminal US label Sub Pop.

How did you start making music? Was music a big part of your life growing up in Pennsylvania?
I started playing drums when I was 10 and from there just found other kids who were learning instruments. I mostly played in punk and hardcore bands and then moved onto slower and louder groups and eventually what I’m doing now. It’s not like Pennsylvania was devoid of stuff to do and music was my only outlet; I could have hunted, worked on cars, got good grades, but for whatever cosmic reason, I chose early on to play music.

You were originally a drummer for metal band Pearls and Brass before embarking on your own material. What precipitated the change from drumming in a metal band to your solo material, which is altogether different?
I moved to a small town and had no one to do music with so I just started messing around with Ableton on my own. It pretty much coincided with a new found interest in electronic sounds.

Do you feel that your solo music, although very much different in sound, shares a kind of intensity and passion with punk and metal music?
Only when I do it live. The process of making this music is completely different than rock music, I find myself getting into a way smaller headspace and because I’m by myself, my veto power is unruly.

How do you feel about ‘All Hell’ now that it has been released? Has your relationship with any of the songs changed since you recorded them?
Yeah I guess you always get a different sense of a song once you’ve either put it away for a while or play it out relentlessly. I can’t say I would have changed a single thing about any song on the record, but some tracks I used to love have maybe gone down to the bottom of the pile for sure.

There is something unique about ‘All Hell’ in the way you combine textured electronic sounds and beats with more traditional song writing approaches. Was it a conscious decision of yours to try to meld those sounds together or was it an entirely natural process?
I’ve definitely made attempts to do meandering electronic songs in the past, but I’m the kind of dude who needs to complete a thought in, I guess, a more traditional way so I can just move on to the next. Everything on the record was a conscious decision but I didn’t really think too long about most of this stuff, I was kinda hammered when I made the record.

What sort of electronic musicians influenced you in the making of the record?
I was listening to Black to Comm, Demdike Stare, Holy Other, Gonjasufi, and Tim Hecker among other stuff during the making of this record.

As well as using many electronic sounds ‘All Hell’ is perhaps a perfect example of modern and inventive country music. What is it about country music that draws you to it and do you feel an affinity in any way with other country artists?
I’m drawn mostly to the vocal deliveries and stories in country, but really the overall sound puts me in a specific mood that can be equal parts nostalgic, goofy, and sad.

You spent years working as a long distance trucker before making ‘All Hell’ has that influenced your music in any way. It strikes me that it is a profession that lends itself well to germinating ideas and sounds. Did you come up with any songs or ideas for songs on the road?
Not while trucking no. I’ve had tons of “road” jobs over the years, trucking comprising maybe 10% of the amount of time I’ve spent on the road and the only thing I was thinking about when trucking was how I could not truck anymore. I was actually getting a history degree when I wrote and recorded All Hell.

Storytelling is a main part of your music and ‘All Hell’ features a number of songs telling stories that are sometimes dark and distressing but always compelling. Are the songs on there born out of personal experience? It is it important to you to convey strong feelings and emotion in your music?
These lyrics were born out of random notes I had jotted down over the years, not completely true notes but certainly inspired by some true event along the way. The thing about writing for me is that I never intend on anything, I try to let things unfold from point a to b without thinking too hard about the journey in between. It doesn’t happen like that all the time, but my favourite writing experiences are when I think less.

Perhaps the most striking thing for people when they hear your music is your voice. When did you discover you could sing like that and are there any other vocalists that you admire?
I like Waylon Jennings a lot and I think I was just trying to mimic him. I don’t know, you’re given the voice you’ve got so it’s not like I could choose to sing like Elton John or Michael Jackson even if I wanted to.

You have recently signed to Sub Pop records. How did that come about and are you excited about working with them?
I think they heard All Hell and hit me up on the phone and that was it. I’ve been a Sub Pop fan since I was literally a child, so this was a no brainer. I’m pretty fucking over the moon about working with them, but mostly now because we have become such great friends who go to the movies together, act real immature at shows and then royally rage at night.

Finally, the first track released since you signed to Sup Pop features even more prominent use of electronics and synths while also sampling Shabazz Palaces and Tiny Vipers. What can you tell us about ‘Reach Into The Fire’? Is it a possible signpost as to the direction of your next record?
The song was fun to do but I don’t think my next record will sound anything close to this one. I’m not opposed to directional shifts in making music, it’s just a matter of what mind frame you’re in and right now I’m feeling like The Terminator in a honky-tonk.