Klown Wit Da Nuclear Code

Andriy Zozulya: You started out in the underground and never aimed to be a pop star. Given you now compose for films, run a label, and shape scenes, do you still feel like the same Johnny who began in 1990s Portland?

Johnny Jewel: I've approached writing & recording the exact same way since I began in the late 1980's in Houston. I permanently feel like an outsider regardless of how many people are listening. I need deep isolation in order to hit that flow state. My process is the same for creating. After years of anonymity & working in private, what continues to evolve is how I navigate the stage where my work becomes public.

Your work has been described as “visual sound”, you say you don’t read music, you imagine compositions like abstract paintings. When a director hands you a script, what’s the first mental image or colour you hear before you even touch a keyboard?

Often, it's elemental. My initial response with a script will be more along the lines of texture than color. For example, is it going to feel metallic, is it going to be organic, or is it going to be windy, cold, warm etc. This train of thought immediately informs instrumentation choices like bells, woodwinds, strings, or synthesizers. I immediately have an instinct for octave regions for each sound. Impressions of color come after the tonality of the texture is explored & melody comes last.

With your bands like Desire, Chromatics, Glass Candy, and through your label Italians Do It Better, you’ve spanned genres from Italo-disco to noir synth to ambient soundtracks. Is there a unifying philosophy or emotion behind all these shifts?

As the writer & producer of these projects, I'm the common thread at the center of all the records. I never set out to achieve any specific goal other than making the very best record that I can. I allow the music to dictate what needs to happen. I use my life and my experiences as emotional conductors for electricity. The better I can tune in to those raw emotions, the more accurately I can translate the essence of those ideas into realities for the audience. Art is a reflection of what we already know to be true. A lot of times, that understanding lies in the subconscious. The job of the artist is to magnify these frequencies & get out of the way. The perception of music is all about the listener's personal relationship to the language of sound.

You recently scored Holly, a haunting drama about isolation and possible clairvoyance. How does your approach differ when you compose for a film with delicate horror-strands rather than a psychological, neon-lit crime drama?

I loved working on Holly. This type of film allows for more supernatural elements. That's the main difference between the thriller crime genre & something that leans more towards horror. I keep more footing in reality while working on thrillers. Horror films can be more metaphysical or fantasy based. This informs the sound of the project & the choices I make. For example, in Holly, there are no practical or visual effects to illustrate her clairvoyance. The closest visual indication we see is wind, & even that is very subtle in the film. It's in her hair occasionally, or in the trees in the distance. In this case, all supernatural feeling had to come from the music. As a composer, it's important to understand where to amplify the scene & where to hold back. Ultimately, you are there to reinforce the director's vision, so you need to have a clear understanding of where to place musical energy in order to elevate that narrative.

You insist on using analog gear, embracing “negative space”, silence becomes tone. How important is the choice of tools in conveying emptiness, memory, or dread? And does digital ever creep in your workflow?

I make music that I love. I love the sound of it. I love the feel of it. That usually involves a lot of equipment that is half a century old, but I love new technology as well. Tools are very important in terms of getting the right textures, but I also believe that all of my pieces need to be able to perform on the acoustic piano. I keep a piano in a separate room from the studio for the sole purpose of writing with no electricity involved. No flashing lights or visual stimuli. This is where I work out lyrics, chord progressions, arrangements, & harmonic branches. It's tempting to be seduced by production during the writing process which can cloud your perception of the music in its purest form. If a composition survives the piano, I'll take it next door to the studio. In the studio I'll have direct access to 30-40 hardware synthesizers. I will use digital synthesizers for orchestral sounds in tandem with monophonic synthesizers, acoustic instruments, sound modules, & FM synthesis. I actually prefer digital strings. For low end, I exclusively use pure analog. The same goes for rhythms. All this being said, I have yet to use VSTs. That's not currently part of my personal work flow, but I'm open to the possibility of those worlds. Several artists I work with use soft synthesizers in their bedroom studios so I do have some exposure to how those perform. I appreciate that digital technology has levelled the playing field & made music production accessible to everyone on Earth

You’ve worked across multiple mediums, bands, solo instrumental work, film scores, live A/V shows. If you were asked to score a silent film from the 1920s today, what aesthetic would you choose: dreamy noir? Hypnagogic disco? Something else entirely?

Futurism.

Given your past: near-death, reinvention, do you see your oeuvre as one continuous self, or a series of alter-egos walking parallel paths?

Ideas I'm fleshing out in 2026 can be traced back to building blocks that I began forming in the late 1980's. At some point in my creative life, I cast a very large imaginary stone into a lake. The ripples from that initial impact are still echoing outward. My output is a continuous line directly related to everything that came before it. Extreme experiences in life give us the chance to view things with new eyes...there's landmarks along the way that present an opportunity to contemplate the past, present, or future. But for me personally, the path remains the same. Always forward, never back.

For those discovering your work now, what entry point would you recommend: a band album (Desire/Chromatics/Glass Candy), a solo instrumental (like Windswept), or a film score? What defines the “purest” version of what you do?

Digital Rain is one of my favorite albums released on Italians Do It Better. It's mostly improvised stereo recordings & a great introduction into my solo synthesizer work. Windswept is good entry point for my film work. The album features compositions I wrote for David Lynch's Twin Peaks: The Return. If you want to check out my more beat driven & lyrically oriented work, the After Dark series is the perfect place to dig in. Volumes I, II, III, & IV are out now featuring my groups Desire, Glass Candy, Farah, Chromatics & Mirage. This compilation series also features incredible artists I produce for like Orion, Double Mixte, & more. It's tan ideal introduction to our universe. From there you can explore each planet in our solar system & discover their albums one by one. Volume V is coming soon to a theater near you.

Your recent tour blended live performance with a film-reel of your cinematic universe, from cult classics to deep-cut noir. Which three films are your favorites, and what does each one unlock in your music when projected onstage?

I absolutely love the scenes from Abel Ferrara's Ms .45, David Lynch's Fire Walk With Me, & Jaromil Jireš's Valerie & Her Week Of Wonders. All three films are centered around a female hero. This powerful energy is a great counter balance to the sonic sculpture I'm creating on stage. The same way I might have a vocalist whisper quietly over a very loud track, these films offer an ethereal polarity to the musical decisions I'm making live.

Looking ahead, where do you want to take sound next, a full-on horror score? A modular synth concept album? Visual–audio installation? Or something we haven’t imagined yet?

My original score for the new Karl Lagerfeld documentary is coming out soon via Italians Do It Better. The soundtrack also features songs from my groups Desire, Chromatics, & more. Currently, I'm in post-production on a psychedelic horror feature length film. I'm doing the score as well as writing a few pop songs with the lead actors. There's a lot of fantasy & visual effects on this project which is always great to work with as a composer. I'm writing a fourth album with Desire & wrapping up the first installment of my Kaleidoscope series out later this year. In terms of new frontiers, I'm designing an interchangeable sonic alphabet for a live performance. It's an aleatoric concept piece dealing with themes of origin, deconstruction & reconstruction. Birth. Death. Afterlife.

Finally, if your favourite piece of jewellery were a film, which one would it be?

My silver ankh necklace. I designed the dimensions, geometry and had it custom made in the desert. L 'Amulette De La Vie. As a film, it would have to be 1976's science fiction thriller, Logan's Run. Desire is my Jessica 6, & I'm a runner searching for sanctuary. I'm desperately trying to escape carousel as the life clock crystal in my left palm is critically flashing crimson.