Melbourne hip hop artist 360 has revealed that he’s working on the follow-up to his award-winning Falling & Flying record and dropped a conspicuous clue that Silverchair’s Daniel Johns provides guest vocals on the new album, on a tune called ‘Impossible’.
The MC, who has been flying the flag for Aussie hip hop internationally with a North American tour off the back of his appearance at SXSW 2013, was recently announced as part of the Lollapalooza 2013 lineup and in-between his hectic touring schedule and mixtapes has been working on a new studio album.
The news arrives, as Triple J points out, in inimitable Sixty style, with the rapper releasing an online video made up of a humorous prank call to a telemarketer. During his homemade clip, he discusses that work on his new album is “coming and moving quickly.”
“It is already 10 times better than the last album,” reads some enthusiastic text from the rapper, before introducing an audio snippet of ‘Impossible’, writing “guess who is singing this part?” Telling Triple J that it’s the voice of “one of Australia’s best singers and songwriters,” and the easy-to-unpack hint that “their name reminds me of ‘Golden Table’.”
Assuming that translates to Silverchair, then the angelic tones belong to Daniel Johns, who was recently named as one of the nation’s Greatest Singers in a poll of vocalist peers, just missing out of the Top 10, ranking at #11 behind the likes of Chrissy Amphlett (RIP), Jimmy Barnes, Michael Hutchence, Sia Furler, and, at the top spot, John Farnham. 360 says it’s the voice of “one of Australia’s best singers and songwriters,” and the easy-to-unpack hint that “their name reminds me of ‘Golden Table’.”
A guest spot on 360’s new album marks the breaking of a period of relative inaction from the former Silverchair singer. Following the Aussie rock band’s announcement they were entering ‘extended hiatus’ mode two years ago, Johns has been relatively quiet on the musical front.
He eventually broke the silence with ‘Atlas’, the symphonic instrumental he penned for a Qantas ad campaign to update their age-old “Still Call Australia Home” campaign. Johns remarking of the sweeping tune, recorded with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, “I wanted it to sound big, something special… it was a conscious effort to create a good piece of music and not just a jingle.”
Johns then continued his collaboration with the Australian airline by offering a day’s worth of mentorship to the winners of the Qantas Spirit Of Youth Australia (SOYA) awards, Sydney’s Caitlin Park, and runners-up Hayden Calnin and Courtney Barnett scoring an exclusive audience with the Silverchair musician.
At the time, Johns noted he had also been working on his own solo project, and a new collaborative album with Empire of the Sun/The Sleepy Jackson composer Luke Steele. Though that was in November, making Johns’ apparent appearance on the new 360 album his first recorded output in nearly six months.
Though Johns did make a long-awaited return to the stage, alongside Kimbra and a host of musicians in a career-spanning concert to celebrate producer Van Dyke Parks at the Theabrton Thatre in March as part of the 2013 Adelaide Festival. Johns’ connection to the famed arranger and composer being that Van Dyke Parks helped with production on Silverchair’s landmark 2002 album, Diorama.
Meanwhile, fellow Silverchair co-founder and drummer Ben Gillies has been busy working on his new solo project Bento. Gillies recently came to Tone Deaf HQ to discuss Bento’s debut album, Diamond Days, his shift from drummer to frontman, and the possibility of a future reunion and new album release from Silverchair.
