Johnny Pears is a South Shields (UK) born musician, artist and writer who channels a spontaneous style of song composition, championing it as his creative outlet - or put simply, the only way he’s ever known: “How to make anything half decent”.

Not methodical or really one to force things, his material comes unannounced, often scribbling lyrics down or mumbling midnight voice memo melodies or guitar lines into his phone - much to the annoyance of his partner.

Like most, his influences are vast and you’ll hear various layers and subconscious nods to contemporaries and those gone before.

He has a sound, but that sound can and does vary. Johnny uses software, physical instruments and a blend of his punchy and harmonious vocals to set off on a sonic DIY journey of discovery, using the ideas spawned from this curious pool of spontaneity.

Despite fronting Washington based indie four-piece Veldt (2014-2016), he’s not great at collaborating creatively and has his own isolated way of songwriting, as he did even when he was in the band:

“I can perform with others and gel and I loved those lads, but creatively, I’ve just got a certain way of doing things… and it’s usually alone. But, the future is unwritten and maybe this is something I can work on.” 

He is currently awaiting an ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) diagnosis through the NHS and believes the way he is and the struggle to navigate day to day life and the likelihood of ASD, are intrinsically linked.

He is frank about his issues, even making a short film endorsed by charity Mind called ‘The Boy Who Panicked’ featuring Veldt’s music that was aired on regional television.

Johnny has had numerous episodes of chronic mental health since his teens - labelled with everything from panic disorder to agoraphobia, generalised anxiety disorder, and OCD - and even ended up in a Blackpool rehab for substance abuse issues, after years of self-medicating with alcohol.

He believes the dial points strongly towards undiagnosed ASD and explains a lot of what he has experienced during his life.

There’s no pity party though. Sober these days, he believes all of this, as challenging as it has been and may be for himself and his family, gives him something in the form of a creative spark. He’s an artist obsessed with bricks (see @johnnypearsart on Instagram), paints/draws his own music cover art and is even drudging away on a novel.

None of this is as spontaneous though as the medium of his music and the speedy process a song can sometimes take from inception to completion. Further comments on his ‘process’ - a word he winces and cringes at slightly and tries his level best to avoid:

“An idea can come when you least expect it. A melody, a hook, a string of lyrics and you must take note. But there are times, where it can all just come pouring out and you’d better be f**king ready because for me, it can come thick and fast and I need to get it down as soon as possible, before I forget it… You lean in and out of it and do a sort of dance and this thing, that seemingly came from nothing, is now something… But it’s from the source of our very essence and this shared consciousness and the truth of it is, that it’s just a trick. It’s an illusion. It didn’t really come from nothing. It was there all along, just waiting to arrive. It’s in us all.”

He talks about the importance of engaging with a good therapist (which he fortunately has) and things like meditation to balance mental wellbeing and refers to “the well of creativity” and how it needs replenishment, even from the seemingly simple, mundanity of daily life.
 

Well, keep replenishing that well, Johnny.
 

Debut single ‘Night Crawlers’ is available now across all major streaming platforms.