We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful John Daugherty. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with John below.

Hi John, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

My upcoming album “The King of Cups” is probably the most meaningful project i’ve tackled under the HollowEarth umbrella. it was some time in 2020 and after 8 years of making experiemental electronic music I was feeling drawn to the sounds of honky tonks. I had been in texas for several years but hadn’t really been going to many country shows until recently and had found myself enamored by the pedal steel guitar. I decided that i’d buy one and start making electronic music with it. I hadn’t even played one yet so that was a big risk (haha). After purchasing one and learning a bit I started a new album and began the process of trying to figure out how to combine it with electronic music. I begin writing every day and trying to find a direction that worked. I was making songs almost every day. amassing close to 100 over the course of a year. It was around this time that I had a kinda “come to God” moment and realized I needed to change my relationship with alcohol so I quit drinking. that was a huge change for me. Then not long after that my older brother passed. It took everything in my power to stay sober but I managed with the support of my girlfriend and family and I threw myself all the way into making music. Grief is such a difficult emotion to process but thankfully I was able to find peace in the studio. finishing the songs became a big part of the healing process and working on that album really brought me peace as it took the form it is in today.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a record producer/musician based in Austin Texas. I release music under several different aliases but my main project for the last 12 years has been HollowEarth. I’ve been aiming to combine western and appalachian traditional music with electronic music by crafting compositions that utilize the pedal steel guitar, banjos, mandolins, and other organic instrumentation with modern production. I’ve released 3 albums, 12 mixtapes, as well as produced music for stage shows, and contributed steel guitar and production to various projects. My music ranges from instrumental hip hop, to ambient, to kinda terry riley indebted classical minimalism and everything in between.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I believe there’s a lot at play when it comes to this question but aside from the obvious answer which is go out and support local artists there’s one that is really important to me that I’d like to mention. I think in order to cultivate a thriving creative ecosystem we really need to insure that the next generation is able to blossom as creative individuals. I was blessed to grow up in a home where we were encouraged to be creative and had I not spent my elementary years attending bluegrass shows or performing in church or playing music with my family and friends I don’t think i’d end up where i currently am. Kids naturally love to play and make believe and allowing children to have space to make noise and experiement with musical endeavors was an aspect of my childhood i’m forever grateful for. Whether it be music classes or drumline or starting garage rock bands with neighborhood kids- you won’t have a thriving creative ecosystem if the kids aren’t given an opportunity to learn and embrace a musicial or creative direction. Supporting the next generation as they learn their craft, make their art, and eventually start sharing it in the world is probably one of the most important aspects of keeping a healthy creative world.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Personally my main ethos when creating has been to combine seemingly disparate influences into a cohesive product. As a person who grew up in southern appalachia and then moved to Texas traditional music has always been a huge part of my life. From the oprys of tennessee to the dancehalls of texas I always loved string and western music. As i went down my artist path I begin learning more about electronic music and other decidedly non-traditional forms of music. I found myself pulled into multiple directions and was keeping my traditional instincts out of my electronic ones but found both sides not really filling my creative desires. after several years of that i just decided to combine the two and I’ve been happy with the results.
As i began creating these weird combos of steel guitar/other stringed instruments with the beat driven music of electronic and hip hop I realized it resonated with other people and I was honestly just part of a long line of restless creatives who didn’t want to limit themselves. As HollowEarth gained traction people would reach out and tell me about albums that came out 20-30 years ago doing similar stuff as what i’ve been doing and I feel less intimidated by what i once thought was a kinda weird idea. a few years into the project beyonce released one of the biggest albums of the year that combined country and americana with hip hop and jersey club and other stuff. heck, buck owens was one of the first people in the united states to get a modular synth. I think naturally creative people like to break rules and try things out and as i made that a goal in my journey i realized I was just one of tons of others who thought it’d be fun to blend these two seemingly compete different worlds together.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/hollowearthsounds
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollowearthsounds
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hollowearthsounds

Image Credits

they’re all my photos