The iPad and Daniel Johnston

Outsider music star releases new album in the format of a game in which players must complete levels to unlock tracks
Space Ducks
Space Ducks artwork by Daniel Johnston. PR

Texan folk singer Daniel Johnston is known as much for his self-drawn album sleeves as he is for his idiosyncratic music. Over a 30-year career he has earned a cult following, with endorsements from Kurt Cobain Matt Groening and David Bowie.

His outsider status might suggest that an iPad app would not be the most natural platform for him to release an album on, but for his new record Space Ducks, Johnston has done just that. (Previously he released an iPhone app despite having never owned a mobile phone himself.)

Other artists have created apps for fans to explore their music digitally: you can interact with the themes of Björk's Biophilia or visit Kraftwerk's studio in Kling Klang Machine. But Johnston is taking things a step further by making his a game you have to complete in order to listen to the album.

Each level unlocks a different track. Challenges are at least familiar: level one is a duck version of Space Invaders. And if you don't kill them all? It's back to the start, which is not so much Angry Birds as frustrated ducks.