Antony and the Johnsons

Antony and the Johnsons is a music group presenting the work of Antony Hegarty and his collaborators.

Career

British experimental musician David Tibet of Current 93 heard a demo and offered to release Antony's music through his Durtro label. The debut album, Antony and the Johnsons, was released in 2000. In 2001, Antony released a short follow-up EP, I Fell in Love with a Dead Boy, which, in addition to the title track, included a cover of "Mysteries of Love", a David Lynch/Angelo Badalamenti song and "Soft Black Stars", a cover of a Current 93 song.

Producer Hal Willner heard the EP and played it to Lou Reed, who immediately recruited him for his project The Raven. Now gaining more attention, Antony signed to US-based record label Secretly Canadian, and released another EP, The Lake, with Lou Reed guest-performing on one of the tracks. Secretly Canadian also re-released Antony's debut album in the United States to wider distribution in 2004.

"Candy Darling on her Deathbed" by Peter Hujar used as the cover art for I Am a Bird Now

Antony's second full-length album, 2005's I am a Bird Now, was greeted with positive reviews and significantly more mainstream attention. The album featured guest appearances by Lou Reed, Rufus Wainwright, Boy George and Devendra Banhart, and circled themes of duality and transformation. I Am a Bird Now featured arrangements by Maxim Moston and Julia Kent and was mixed by Doug Henderson. In September 2005 Antony and the Johnsons were awarded the Mercury Prize^[1] for the best UK album of 2005. Rival Mercury nominees, and favorites for the prize, the Kaiser Chiefs suggested that Antony got in on a technicality; despite the fact he was born in the United Kingdom he spent much of his time in the US — although they later apologized for the suggestion that he wasn't a deserving winner.

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Antony and the Johnsons collaborated with experimental film-maker Charles Atlas and presented TURNING in November 2006 in Rome, London, Paris, Madrid, and Braga. Thirteen of New York City's most enigmatic women were presented in intimate live video portraits during the course of the concert. ^[2] The Guardian called the piece "fragile, life affirming, and truly wonderful (five stars)" Le Monde in Paris hailed TURNING as "Concert-manifeste transsexuel".

Antony and the Johnsons' 5-song Another World EP was released on October 7, 2008. Antony and the Johnsons' third album, The Crying Light, was released on January 19, 2009^[3]. Antony has described the theme of the album as being "about landscape and the future"^[4]. Nature, death, love and the role of the artist were explored across ten tracks, which included the single ‘Epilepsy is Dancing.’ The album was mixed by Bryce Goggin and included arrangements by Nico Muhly.

Ann Powers wrote of The Crying Light for the LA Times online, “it's the most personal environmentalist statement possible, making an unforeseen connection between queer culture's identity politics and the green movement. As music, it's simply exquisite -- more controlled and considered than anything Antony and the Johnsons have done and sure to linger in the minds of listeners." ^[5]

After touring throughout North America and Europe in support of their new album, Antony and the Johnsons presented a unique staging of "The Crying Light" with the Manchester Camerata at the Manchester Opera House for the 2009 Manchester International Festival. The concert hall was transformed into a crystal cave filled with laser effects created by installation artist Chris Levine. Antony and the Johnsons have gone on to present concerts with symphonies across Europe in Summer 2009, including the Opera Orchestra of Lyon, the Metropole Orchestra, Roma Sinfonietta and the Montreux Jazz Festival Orchestra. At Salle Playel in Paris, Antony appeared in a costume designed for him by Riccardo Tisci of Givenchy.

Band members

Current members include:

• Antony Hegarty - lead vocals, piano
• Julia Kent (previously of Rasputina) - cello
• Parker Kindred - drummer
• Jeff Langston - bassist
• Doug Wieselman - horns
• Maxim Moston - violin, arrangement
• Rob Moose - guitar, violin

Discography

EPs

• I Fell in Love with a Dead Boy (Durtro, January 2001; reissued on Rebis Music, 2006)
• Hope There's Someone (Secretly Canadian, June 2004) #44 UK (charted in 2005)
• The Lake (EP) (Secretly Canadian, November 2004)
• You Are My Sister (Rough Trade, November 2005) #39 UK
• Another World EP (Secretly Canadian, October 7, 2008) #179 US

Singles

• Cripple and the Starfish
• Epilepsy Is Dancing (Secretly Canadian, April 7 2009)
• Aeon (Secretly Canadian, August 4 2009)

Promo singles

• Calling for Vanished Faces/Virgin Mary 7" (Durtro, May 2003) (Split single with Current 93; Limited to 500 copies)

Live albums

• Live at St. Olave's (Durtro, May 2003)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Antony and the Johnsons

Wikinews has related news: Antony & The Johnsons win Mercury Music Prize

• Antony and the Johnsons
• Antony and the Johnsons at MySpace
• Secretly Canadian artist page
• Concerts and Interviews on NPR Music