John Fishell

For songwriter, producer, and guitarist John Fishell, music has always been about balance, between improvisation and precision, collaboration and individuality, chaos and clarity. His upcoming album Notorious Partners in Crime, created alongside longtime friend and Indian classical virtuoso Deepak Ram, is the culmination of two worlds colliding in harmony. Together, they’ve built a record that blurs boundaries, weaving Ram’s intricate phrasing with Fishell’s raw rock-rooted energy. Ahead of the release and a UK tour, John opens up about the creative process, the lessons of collaboration, the unpredictability of live performance, and the importance of protecting one’s mental wellbeing on the road.

Hi John, It’s great to speak with you. How are things at the moment?
Quite busy putting the last finishing touches on the album and getting ready to come over to the UK. Not to mention, I haven’t memorised the lyrics yet, which is critical!

Working with Deepak Ram seems like a meeting of two very different worlds. How has collaborating with him been?
Deepak has been a friend for so many years; we seem to spend most of our time together just hanging out, laughing about stuff, goofing off, and reliving our memories. When we finally make a point to work together in the same room, it is lightning fast because we don’t really sweat the details on each other’s time. I will say we work very differently – Deepak can spend days improvising over a particular chord progression or learning how I’ve phrased a particular vocal, and I can spend just as long agonising over a bass part. I know we hold each other’s ideas and contributions in very high regard, and we are rarely “competing” for the same musical space.

How has working across genres like that impacted your perspective musically?
I’m not sure that I’m working in Deepak’s Indian classical genre as much as he is working in my western songwriting world … however … I can listen to and consume Indian music beyond a surface level NOW (it’s only taken me 20 years).


How did the creation of Notorious Partners in Crime come about?
I asked Deepak to perform with me a few years ago, and during the process of arranging songs and working with him, we decided it was worth pursuing an entire album. From there, it’s been quite a process sorting out songs and ideas that work well together. The title comes from a vocal line I added to Deepak’s song “Space Time”.

How do you deal with creative pressure or moments when inspiration doesn’t come easily?
Deepak is a flautist, a composer, and a percussionist, and I would call myself a songwriter, producer, guitarist, and vocalist, so we have music composition in common. I’m not sure we are ever out of ideas or inspiration; we just have to make sure our ideas complement each other’s strong points and abilities. Creative pressure for me is actually time pressure, and I’m a horrible manager of time.

Your live shows are known for their energy and unpredictability. How do you keep performances fresh, especially with such complex material?
Energy and unpredictability kind of flow out of me naturally. I’m much more comfortable in a rock setting with drums pounding, so this quiet/acoustic setting is going to be a bit unnerving for me. There is a good deal of on-the-spot improvisation I have to do in support of Deepak’s playing … so that will be unpredictable. I think we can expect some “bum” notes out of me, and I’ll have to work pretty hard to cover them up!I bet I burn off the same amount of calories on these shows with Deepak, though – they will just come from different places!


The touring life can be intense. How do you manage your mental wellbeing while performing and recording?
For me, overdrinking fluids is super important. It seems I’m perpetually dehydrated, so I have to watch out for that while touring. If I’m even the slightest bit worn out, my voice is the first thing to go, so good sleep is important. As far as mental health, it can be tough, but I have to leave EVERY problem back at the hotel room. I have to make sure to ONLY tour with people I trust and people I can handle for long periods of time with a bare minimum of any drama. And also I take a bunch of psych meds anyway, so that helps.


Do you have any rituals or practices before going on stage or entering the studio to centre yourself mentally?
I’m infinitely more comfortable in a recording studio because I know what I’m doing!Stage performance is a work-in-progress for me, and the BEST thing for me is to try to live “in the moment” for my short time in front of people. Along those lines, I have been accused (many times) of coming across as if I’m performing in a huge stadium even though there are 4 people in the audience, and I guess there is some disassociation there. I try to show up at the venue “ready to play” because more often than not, something will go sideways and I have to just “go out there” and get it done.


If you could give one piece of advice to younger artists, what would it be?
It is up to you to earn every last listener or audience member. Do your best to be respectful and sincere with everyone. Be a great friend. Be the person on the bus that is super easy to hang out with. If you are introverted, force yourself to start up conversations inside intimidating groups. If you are extroverted, then less talking, more listening. When you write and perform your own music your own way, be ready for everyone to hate what you’re doing. Be prepared for everyone to hate you as a person, too. All because you and/or your music are NOT what they believe they like. Wow, this is starting to sound very negative. If you’ve made it this far along in this response and still want to be an artist, congrats … You ARE!