KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA

Oahu, Hawaii – A year after releasing his last album, From Here to Now to You, singer-songwriter Jack Johnson has announced he will be releasing a new single at the beginning of next month. The Hawaiian native hasn’t recorded anything else yet for his next album, but he wanted to get the track out to his audience.

The song, “Birkenstocks in the Sand,” was recorded a few weeks ago in his studio that is located not too far from the house he shares with his wife and three children. He was inspired to write the song after he went surfing one day and was walking with his Birkenstocks on. “The song just came to me, man,” Johnson told us recently in an interview. “I looked down at my feet and just saw the connection that the German sandals made with the sand. I didn’t even end up going surfing. I called the band and we met at the studio to put together the song.”

However, there’s something different about Johnson’s upcoming track. This song sounds nothing like any of the other songs he has even recorded. Johnson has been known as the Bob Dylan of his time, because all of his songs sound the exact same. This has always been an advantage, though, to his fans. If they ever want to hear a new album or track of his before it comes out, they can just listen to any of his other songs. But now, Johnson is switching things up and is playing a sound that is new to him and his audience.

“We decided to go the dub-step route,” Johnson told us. “When I showed the band what I had in mind, which was the typical bar chords, they told me they thought we should try to expand our audience. I can’t wait for everyone to hear it.”