John Butler On What Fuels His Music: 'If I’m Going To Do This, I Want It To Be Part Of Something Bigger'

For an artist who has spent decades navigating fame, family, and activism, good fortune is not lost on John Butler.

From Fremantle busker to ARIA-winning household name, from topping festival bills to quietly sidestepping off the mainstream radar, Butler has always let music lead. And now, on the eve of his latest release PRISM – the third instalment of his Four Seasons project – he's reinvented himself once again, both creatively and personally.

At his peak, Butler was a fixture of triple j's Hottest 100. His distinctive slide guitar, rootsy anthems, and political candour made him both a star and a lightning rod. Yet, in recent years, he’s largely played in the shadows of that once-constant spotlight – though he still popped up in the Hottest 200 of Australian Songs, a quiet nod to his enduring presence.

Now, post-pandemic, Butler is back – but not quite the way you remember him. Before COVID hit, Butler’s long-standing trio – one of Australia’s most celebrated live outfits – was dissolving.

“My long-standing band kind of wanted to do other things – which I totally understand,” he says. “That's why I do my own music and have my own band! So we disbanded, and I put together a really good band to kind of finish my contracts. And then COVID happened.”

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The pandemic cracked everything open. Isolated, like many artists, Butler went solo again – not just onstage but in the studio. Alone with his instruments, he began to reimagine what a John Butler record could sound like – and the Four Seasons project was born.

Running River was the first to fruit – a gentle, ambient, meditative work brimming with texture and healing energy. Then came Still Searching, a fully instrumental release anchored in deep rhythm and introspection. Both marked stark departures from the radio-friendly stompers of his past.

But PRISM, the latest and most sonically ambitious chapter, almost didn’t happen.

“I was making the album by myself – producing and engineering it in my room,” Butler recalls. “It was a lot of fun. But then the computer froze. Things got messy and sloppy. All the beautiful colours of the PRISM turned brown. I freaked out and, thankfully, gave up.”

It was this surrender that cleared space for collaboration. He reached out to longtime percussionist Michael Barker, keyboardist Ian Peres, and drummer Michael Boase – artists he’d admired and worked with at different times, but never together.

“I put this band together especially for this album, so I’ve never really been in a band in this formation before,” he says. “It was exciting.”

Even still, the album wasn’t recorded as a unit. Instead, it emerged in waves. Touring the instrumental Still Searching with just percussion, Butler began to sense chemistry. Producer James Ireland was later brought in to help bring PRISM across the finish line. The result: a layered, intricate sound that feels both familiar and boldly new.

The familiar and new are not strangers in Butler’s world, and they aren’t confined solely to his musical sphere. His wife, Danielle Caruana – better known as Mama Kin – is a much-loved artist and musician in her own right. Their children, too, are increasingly musically inclined.

“It’s not lost on me,” he says. “I feel very blessed and struck by just the beauty that comes out of our family.”

“It’s fun and surreal that we’re all releasing music in the same month. It wasn’t planned. It just kind of happened. To be part of that mob or tribe – it's profound.”

But living in such a vibrant, art-filled bubble isn’t without its dissonance. Butler has always been acutely aware of the broader social and environmental crises happening around him – from climate inaction to genocide to the erosion of truth in public life.

“There’s a contrast to that family joy,” he says. “Watching governments not believe in science, watching injustice – it’s confronting.”

From his earliest days, Butler has viewed music not just as expression, but as service. Hanging out with environmental activists in his youth instilled a sense of civic duty that never left.

“I remember thinking, what I’m doing is kind of self-indulgent compared to these people,” he says. “They’re protecting water, freedom, and democracy. Without that, we don’t have life. So if I’m going to do this, I want it to be part of something bigger.”

That conviction still shapes his artistic choices today.

“There’s a lot of merit in contemplating your inherited privilege,” he says. “I’m successful. I’m blessed. So when I want my album to go number one… in the scheme of things, it feels a little shallow. You can’t not think about that when so many people are struggling.”

Butler has also had to reckon with how the industry has changed. “My daughter said to me, ‘Dad, I can’t do what you did. I can’t sell $200 worth of CDs after a $50 gig. That world doesn’t exist anymore.’”

Streaming, social media, and algorithm-driven discovery have transformed how artists survive – and thrive. For Butler, it's a double-edged sword.

“Every superpower has a kryptonite, doesn’t it?” he muses. “There was a beautiful innocence in just knowing about one thing that was going on in your world, you know? Just camping, jamming till two in the morning, not knowing what else was happening outside of that moment.”

But now, information is everywhere, and Butler acknowledges that it isn’t always a bad thing.

“Tyranny can’t hide anymore,” he says. “I like that there's enough science getting around now that we know when the government is lying to us. It's perverse, but I'd rather know that, or at least know our enemies can’t hide.”

As he embarks on the PRISM tour, Butler is feeling equal parts excitement and apprehension.

“It’s a beautiful thing to share it. But picking the setlist is the hardest part – which kids don’t get to come to the playground tonight?” he laughs.

He’s planning a staggered return to the stage – starting small, letting the songs live a little in people’s lives before coming back for larger shows.

“This is really a launch tour,” he says. “A chance to introduce people to this new world.”

And what comes next? Even he’s not sure.

“I’m in the middle of PRISM – well really, I’m at the beginning of it,” he says. “But the more this music gets out of me, the more will come. I’m just along for the ride.”

At a time when people increasingly demand certainty, John Butler is content dwelling in the questions. His new music is searching, expansive, and healing – not because he has all the answers, but because he's learned to listen.

“I’ve realised I’m just the ‘butler’ here,” he says with a reflective smile. “I wouldn't be so bold as to tell you what art wants next from me. I’ll just let art dictate, and I’ll keep asking, ‘What would you like next?’”

PRISM will be released independently on Friday, 5 September. You can pre-order/pre-save the album here.

Presented by Double J and Jarrah Records