Jack Johnson has announced the release of his SURFILMUSIC soundtrack and 4-Tracks companion double album, which is set for a May 15 release via Brushfire Records.
Both projects accompany the singer-songwriter’s SURFILMUSIC documentary, which recently premiered at SXSW. The soundtrack features the film’s original score by Johnson and Hermanos Gutiérrez alongside remastered selections from Johnson’s early four-track recordings.
The artist shared a new rendition of “Drink Water” from the soundtrack, which originally appeared on his 2001 debut album, Brushfire Fairytales. The melancholic ballad was inspired by a surfing accident where Johnson nearly drowned after hitting an underwater reef. 4-Tracks, on the other hand, focuses on the archival music from Johnson’s personal tapes, including raw recordings and previously unreleased tunes from his early days of making music.
SURFILMUSIC, directed by Emmett Malloy, follows Johnson’s early years making surf films with close friends that later became the foundation for his songwriting. It blends rare footage from those formative surf films with Johnson’s personal and family archives, as well as present-day reflections. It features fellow surfers like Kelly Slater, Rob Machado, John Florence, and Gerry Lopez; creative director Chris Malloy; singer and rapper G. Love, singer-songwriter Ben Harper; director Emmett Malloy; wife Kim Johnson, and more
The artist is planning two special screenings of the documentary in his home state of Hawai‘i on May 14 and May 15 at Blaisdell Concert Hall. Tickets went on sale on March 16. SURFILMUSIC will soon hit theaters in early June.
Last fall, the soundtracks to Johnson’s documentaries Thicker Than Water and The September Sessions were reissued on vinyl. 2002’s Thicker Than Water, Johnson’s directorial debut, highlighted professional surfers in various exotic locales, including Hawaii, Ireland, Australia, India, and Indonesia. The September Sessions: The Tomorrowland Story Brought To Life In Brilliant 16mm Film, released in 2002 and also directed by Johnson, focused on a group of surfers in Sumatra.
Both documentaries, previously unavailable to stream or purchase, have been remastered in 4K from the original 16mm film prints and are now available for rent or purchase on all video-on-demand platforms.
Shop the soundtrack to Jack Johnson’s SURFILMUSIC here.
