You might know him best as the Ferndale Strangler from Shortland Street, but the multi-talented Johnny Barker is also a musician.
"This record has taken me about three, four, five years to make and I used to play in a lot of bands... but this is the first time I've gone out and learnt to record on my own," he told Newshub.
The 37-year-old is about to release his first solo album, recording a sound some have described as psychedelic folk rock.
"If red wine had a sound, this is what it'd sound like, because I drank a lot of red wine while making it," Barker said.
The album draws on his acting and directing skillset - Barker writes his songs as if they were short film scripts.
"Music making and acting and film work really lights my fire and gets me going," he said.
"And this record is something I've be making for so long. and I'm really proud of it, and I do want people to hear it. I want everybody to hear it."
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Barker's debut album Sleepwalking will be available on iTunes and Spotify from Friday.
Newshub.
