No Frills Reviews

First song you remember falling in love with?

Do the Bartman from The Simpsons’ Sing the Blues album. In retrospect, he is rapping; I hadn’t really thought about that before. At the time, it was just fun and all my friends liked it. It was the first piece of music I owned for myself. On cassette. Aside from the ad libs, I think it’s a solid record still.

I think most people really start to form their musical ‘identity’ as teens. What music would best define your teenage years?

Public Enemy (I loved the Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age album especially), Michael Franti’s Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy and Spearhead. Then a bit later, Asian Dub Foundation. Pretty political stuff for the most part, and I listened – I ditched a playstation in the street cos Chuck D told me too – I ate Red Beans and Rice because of Michael Franti, without a recipe or an awareness of its cultural significance – it wasn’t as easy to look stuff up then. I was also into others like Blur, The Boo Radleys, The Fall and Elvis Costello.

Faithful Johannes (or Trusty John) comes from the old Brothers Grimm fairytales. What’s the story behind you adopting the name?

I was in a duo that I thought would only last a year or two. When we started playing shows and putting music out I was on the lookout for an alter-ego, that I could use to keep some momentum after we broke up (which we did…after a year or two). I was reading Grimm fairytales to my partner at night about that time, when this one came up. I liked the name and the story – talking crows, secrets provoking bizarre acts of love, being turned to stone; that type of thing. My own name seemed too dull and Faithful Johannes felt more solid in the mouth.

How do you get started as a rapper in Durham? Is there much of a hip-hop scene?

I’d lived in Sheffield for most of my 20s before moving to Durham. I’d been in bands since my teens, but with moving to a new region and losing connections, it became more bedroom projects and internet-collaborations, some of which I sang on. I began to realise that I sounded better talking (perhaps because I am not the best singer), and all the music I loved at that time was rap or rap-adjacent.  

I met my friend, Jonny, in the dying days of MySpace; messaging after seeing he was demo of the month in (North East Music and Arts Mag) NARC. We met up for beers a couple of times. I mixed some of his songs for him. One was an instrumental that I tried some spoken lyrics on. Without Jonny’s enthusiasm I wouldn’t have taken it anywhere. But he was keen and full of energy for it, so we started writing and performing together. We were called Outside Your House, and for a few years we played shows around the North East, especially in Durham’s now closed, Empty Shop HQ arts space and venue – where we went a lot, helped out with the sound tech stuff, met people, had a time. I didn’t worry too much about rhymes then – more about cadences, tried to be honest and put on a show – there was no stage at Empty Shop, so I’d stand on a stool, the PA wasn’t always great so I’d write lyrics on oversized cardboard signs.

There’s no rap scene in Durham that I’ve been involved in, though I’ve helped bring a few rappers to town to do shows. I’ve been lucky enough to perform on all sorts of bills though, so it’s not felt a barrier to playing shows

What’s your go-to sad song?

Yo La Tengo – Black Flowers

What’s your go-to banger?

Hot Chip – Ready for the Floor

I’ve seen you describe yourself variously as spoken word, ‘barely rap’, ‘sincerity rapper’. As a slightly older (sorry), white dude doing rap, is there any sense that you have to justify your own niche, rather than just being a straight rapper?

Great question. Yes. Absolutely. It’s complicated. 

I think what I do now, and on the album that me and Neocia have coming out later this year, is much tighter with rhymes and rhythms and I am definitely rapping on every song. It is a rap record.

At the start, I think ‘barely rap’ was a way of me trying to not get judged as a rapper in a technical sense, almost an apology for not fitting in. But the ‘barely rap’ tag never really sat right with me, it was holding hip-hop at arm’s length and could come across as if I was apologising for that connection or saying “don’t worry, it’s not really rap music”.

We put one of my favourite rappers, Open Mike Eagle, on in Durham. Hanging with Mike before the show, he said something innocuous like “so, ‘barely rap’ eh?” and I fell into inarticulate bumbling. It felt problematic, and it was a difficult tag to explain.

Next in the search for self-identity, I went on Twitter – when people still did that – and asked how I should describe myself. The consensus was ‘spoken word electro’ and I went with that for a while. But that didn’t feel right either. Like people often use a certain earnest voice in spoken word – you know the one – I just didn’t feel that was me.  I didn’t want to be a spoken word guy.

So yeah, it’s been a long journey, but more recently I am either going for ‘rapper’ or ‘sincerity rapper’ and that feels a lot better. The ‘sincerity’ part came from an audience member’s description after playing a very tightly packed post-Covid show in a small cellar with my eyes mostly closed. I thought ‘I’ll take that’ – I want what I write to feel true and honest and vulnerable. It is still a label that softens ‘rap’ a bit, but in a non-apologetic way.

I am of course aware that I’m in my 40s now and a white guy. But, I’m not super conscious of these things being a factor in how I describe myself. I think it was more, would I be able to cut it in a cypher? 10 years ago? – no, barely rapping. Now? – yes, with sincerity.

Do you have any musical guilty pleasures?

I try not to feel guilty about music. But would Together Again by Janet Jackson count? Or Billy Joel.  Or Whole of the Moon, or American Pie?

You’ve been doing annual Xmas songs for 7 years now. Do you feel like you’ve put yourself under pressure now to constantly think up something new to say about Xmas?

Yes, definitely. I’ve vowed to continue until death as well. But I don’t think you can ever run out of stories to tell or new perspectives, so it’s a challenge I enjoy. I’ve not even done one about Aliens visiting at Christmas yet!

And the obvious question. Favourite Xmas song (not allowed to say yourself)?

Christmas Steve by Advance Base, or less obscurely, Christmas Wrapping by The Waitresses.

What’s been the high point for Faithful Johannes to date?

Mostly, I’m just grateful that there’s people listening. Every live show is a joy, whether that’s to a couple of hundred or 10 people; it’s always worth it because it makes connections. Albums are important to me as a listener and as an artist, so the high point so far is probably getting my second album – Ken & Jean out into the world – and it being well received. It’s got a story running through it. I think it’s funny and emotionally affecting at the same time, while still having tunes. I hope each album will be the next new high point – there’s lots in the works.

You also run a label – Win Big Records. Do you have any upcoming releases that you’re excited about?

I do, that’s right. It’s a slightly occasional venture these days, but I’m really proud of the records I’ve helped get a wider audience through it.

I’ve just put out a new tape by Amateur Trepanning called Tang Ping! – which I’d urge people to check out. That’s the 16th release through the label.

I’ve put out three tape EPs by Berlin-based Glaswegian rapper/producer Eli Hermit, which I think are sublime. An Ivan the Tolerable side-project 12” LP called Houseplants II with Leighton Crooks from Country Teasers pouring amazing half-sung, half-recited lyrics over it. There’s all the Faithful Johannes physical releases. Ceiling Demons’ beautiful second record Nil – dark rap from the Yorkshire Dales. James-Leonard Hewitson’s uber-tight post punk pop EP Commercial. Industrial noise-pop from Rhode Island’s Polyarmory.

I never know quite what’s coming up next, some planned releases never get over the line, sometimes things happen very quickly.

Finally. What’s the last song you fell in love with?

Quelle Chris and Chris Keys – Graphic Bleed Outs

Ultra Deep by Faithful Johannes and Neocia is out now. Check out the video on YouTube.