John Grant (musician)

John Grant

John Grant performing live at Jena, Kulturarena, July 24, 2014.
Background information
Birth name John Grant
Born (1968-07-25) July 25, 1968
Buchanan, Michigan, U.S.
Origin Parker, Colorado, U.S.
Genres Folk, alternative rock, indie rock, electronic rock, synthpop, new wave, soft rock
Instruments Vocals, piano
Labels Bella Union, Partisan, USA, Sena Iceland
Associated acts The Czars, Midlake
Website johngrantmusic.com

John Grant (born July 25, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter. Formerly associated with the Denver-based alternative rock band The Czars in the 1990s and early 2000s,[1] he launched a career as a solo artist in 2010.

In 2015, his third solo studio album, Grey Tickles, Black Pressure was received with critical acclaim.[2]

Career

Grant was born in Buchanan, Michigan and raised in Parker, Colorado. He studied languages in Germany and after The Czars split up in 2006, based himself in New York, London, Berlin and Iceland.

Following The Czars, Grant took some time off from making music and returned to recording and performing in 2010 with his debut solo album Queen of Denmark. Released in April 2010, it had been recorded in collaboration with the American folk-rock band Midlake and released on Bella Union. Described as a deeply personal album about his past struggles with alcohol and drug addiction and coming to terms with being gay, it was chosen as Best Album of 2010 by the British music magazine Mojo.[1]

Grant is currently living in Reykjavík, Iceland,[3] where he worked throughout 2012 on his second solo album Pale Green Ghosts with Birgir Þórarinsson, a.k.a. Biggi Veira of Iceland's electronic pioneers Gus Gus.[4]

Pale Green Ghosts was released in March 2013. It was the Rough Trade Records 2013 Album of the Year. Grant was nominated for a Q Award in the category of Q Best Solo Artist.[5][6] He was also nominated as Best International Male Solo Artist at the BRITS 2014 and Attitude Magazine's Man of the Year.

John translated Ásgeir Trausti album Dýrð í dauðaþögn – the English version titled In the Silence was released in October 2013. In 2014, he co-wrote the Icelandic entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, "No Prejudice", performed by Pollapönk.[7]

In 2014, Grant appeared on the 40th Anniversary release of Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road covering the song "Sweet Painted Lady". He was a special guest on The Feast of the Broken Heart, an album from Hercules and Love Affair released by Moshi Moshi records.[8]

His third solo studio album, 2015's Grey Tickles, Black Pressure featured several guests such as singers Tracey Thorn of Everything but the Girl and Amanda Palmer. Former Siouxsie and the Banshees drummer Budgie also took part to the sessions which took place in Dallas, Texas. Upon its release, the album garnered favourable reviews in NME,[9] The Guardian[10] and Mojo.[11] Before embarking on a worldwide tour, Grant appeared on UK TV show, Later with Jools Holland in early October. Accompanied on stage by a band including several backing singers and special guest Budgie, Grant delivered a show at the Hammersmith Apollo in London, receiving a five star review in the national press.[12]

In July 2016 he performed at the Latitude Festival in the United Kingdom.

Personal life

At a live performance with Hercules and Love Affair at the 2012 Meltdown festival, Grant publicly acknowledged for the first time that he is HIV-positive.[13]

In the album Pale Green Ghosts, John Grant sings about being HIV-positive in the track "Ernest Borgnine",[4] and several other tracks refer to his youth and to a former boyfriend.[14] As of 2015, Grant is in a relationship with an Icelandic graphic designer.[15]

Discography

Albums

with The Czars
Solo
Album Album details Peak positions
BE (Fl) BE (Wa) DE FR IRL IT NL SWE UK
Queen of Denmark 66  –  – 157 70  – 38 50 59
Pale Green Ghosts
  • Released: March 11, 2013
  • Label: Bella Union
  • Format: LP, CD, digital download
 42 122  –  – 29  – 68 42 16
John Grant and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra : Live in Concert
  • Released: 2014
  • Label: Bella Union
  • Format: CD
  –  –  –  – 90  –  –  –  –
Grey Tickles, Black Pressure
  • Released: October 9, 2015
  • Label: Bella Union
  • Format: LP, CD, digital download
 46 87 89 122 3 99 34  – 5

EPs

Singles

with The Czars
Solo

References

  1. 1 2 "John Grant getting his sad mojo working". Toronto Star, December 3, 2010.
  2. ↑ Grey Tickles, Black Pressure – Metacritic. Metacritic. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  3. ↑ Hull, Robert (November 29, 2013). "John Grant on Reykjavík". The Guardian. The Guardian. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 LISTEN: John Grant's 'Pale Green Ghosts'. Out, January 30, 2013.
  5. ↑ "John Grant Nominated For Q Award". Bella Union. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
  6. ↑ "THE Q AWARDS 2013 NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCEMENT". Record of the Day. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Pollapönk – No Prejudice (Iceland 2014) | Participant Profile | Eurovision Song Contest". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 2015-10-19.
  8. ↑ Lanre Bakare. "Hercules and Love Affair: The Feast of the Broken Heart review – more than just floor-fillers". The Guardian. Retrieved 2014-06-29.
  9. ↑ "NME Reviews – John Grant – 'Grey Tickles, Black Pressure'". Nme.Com. Retrieved 2015-10-19.
  10. ↑ Alexis Petridis. "John Grant: Grey Tickles, Black Pressure review – trauma, jokes and joy | Music". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-10-19.
  11. ↑ Trynka, Paul (2015-10-02). "John Grant – Grey Tickles, Black Pressure | MOJO". Mojo4music.com. Retrieved 2015-10-19.
  12. ↑ Clarke, Betty (November 13, 2015). "John Grant review – leaves his audience awestruck and on his feet". The Guardian.
  13. ↑ Dorian Lynskey. "Hercules & Love Affair – review | Music". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-10-19.
  14. ↑ "John Grant: 'I wanted to let some of the anger out'" - Interview by Dorian Lynskey. The Guardian, March 3, 2013.
  15. ↑ Nicoll, Ruaridh. "How Icelandic saved John Grant: 'I feel safe here'". The Guardian. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Most Multiple Personalities, episode #387 of Comedy Bang Bang: The Podcast on Earwolf". www.earwolf.com. Retrieved 2015-11-19.
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