Browse by Artist: ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS

Artist:	ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS
Title:	Antony & The Johnsons
Label:	SECRETLY CANADIAN
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.50
Catalog #:	SC 104CD

"Antony and the Johnsons present chamber cabaret in darkest blue, creating music that is highly dramatic, emotional, and lyrical. Compared to everyone from Nina Simone to Lotte Lenya, Antony's voice is hauntingly evocative. The Johnsons, an ensemble featuring a string trio, piano, bass and drums, lay a foundation of lush yet minimal orchestral arrangements. Antony & the Johnsons is a reissue of the group's debut album, which was originally released in 1998 on the London-based label Durtro, which is run by David Tibet of Current 93. It was followed by the EP I Fell in Love with a Dead Boy EP, which includes a cover of David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti's 'Mysteries of Love.' Antony accompanied Lou Reed as a part of his band on his 2003 world tour, on which Antony sang lead vocals on the Velvet Underground classic 'Candy Says'. It, as well as several other songs on which Antony sings back-up vocals, was documented on Reed's latest double-live album Animal Serenade. Antony also contributed vocals for Reed's most recent album, The Raven."

Artist:	ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS
Title:	I Am A Bird Now
Label:	SECRETLY CANADIAN
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.50
Catalog #:	SC 105CD

"There is a myth that great artists operate in seclusion. Hogwash. One need look no further than to the ten songs of Antony and the Johnsons' new album, I Am A Bird Now, to realize this is an utter fallacy. To be sure, with his androgynous features, the singularly named Antony is an original. Have you ever heard a voice like this, imbued with the transcendental emotion of the blues, yet deployed with an unadorned simplicity reminiscent of medieval music practice, and graced with a top note of childlike wonder? Or songs that blur distinctions of gender and identity, yet which still summon up such powerful feelings: longing, love, lust, loss? No. Because Antony is one-of-a-kind. But he is certainly not alone. We are proud to present you with a record filled with one of the most gifted voices heard in a long time. Antony's vocals are almost inhuman, coming together to compile a creature that's as beautiful and enigmatic as the Peter Hujar photo, 'Candy Darling on Her Deathbed', that graces its cover. The lead-off single to I Am A Bird Now, 'Fistful of Love' is perhaps Antony & the Johnsons' finest work to date. It features a scorching horn section and subcultural icon Lou Reed on vocals and searing lead guitar. In the tradition of subversive soul classics The Crystals' 'He Hit me (And It Felt Like a Kiss)' and Millie Jackson's 'Hurts So Good,' Antony sings this ode to getting the shit kicked out of you and learning to love every minute of it. The complex emotional undertow of this track reaches a cathartic roar by the song's finale. Antony shifts from a tremble to a wail -- a tempest of emotion. I Am A Bird Now also includes contributions from friends Boy George (duet with Antony on 'You Are My Sister'), Devendra Banhart (vocals on 'Spiralling'), and Rufus Wainwright (lead vocals on 'What Can I Do')."

Artist:	ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS
Title:	The Lake
Label:	SECRETLY CANADIAN
Format:	CD
Price:	$7.50
Catalog #:	SC 113CD

"Conceived as an introduction to Antony & the Johnsons' new full-length I Am A Bird Now, The Lake consists of three songs, including the lead-off single to I Am A Bird Now. The song is 'Fistful of Love' and is Antony & the Johnsons' finest work to date. Featuring a scorching horn section and the legendary Lou Reed on vocals and lead guitar, the song's clear star is Antony. His lead vocal performance is bone-chilling. Reminiscent to that of the late Otis Redding, he shifts from a tremble to a wail -- a tempest of emotion. The Lake also features two previously unreleased songs."

Artist:	ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS
Title:	Hope There's Someone
Label:	SECRETLY CANADIAN
Format:	CD
Price:	$7.50
Catalog #:	SC 114CD

"On the second single from Antony & The Johnson's I Am A Bird Now, Antony presents one of the strongest solo pieces in his staggeringly rich repertoire. The song 'Hope There's Someone' is a rush of pure emotion, a true performance with every bit of hope, supplication, distress, horror, lament, agony, sorrow and accession, spanning the entire life-death experience. Two of the three songs are previously unreleased outtakes from the I Am A Bird Now sessions. The single also contains a new video for 'Hope There's Someone' by the up-and-coming NYC director Glen Fogel. The video, and cover art, features a captivating portrait of the NYC legend Joey Gabriel."

Artist:	ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS
Title:	You Are My Sister
Label:	SECRETLY CANADIAN
Format:	12"
Price:	$8.50
Catalog #:	SC 130EP

"Antony & The Johnsons' breakthrough album I Am A Bird Now has certainly touched fans and critics alike. The album's latest single is the anthemic and heart-rending 'You Are My Sister,' presented as a duet between Antony and Boy George. Together these two vocalists climb to the highest peak of emotional vulnerability providing for the listener one of the most touching and uncanny duets of the past decade. It's heartbreaking when Antony sings, 'You are my sister / we were born / so innocent, so full of need / there were times we were friends / but times I was so cruel / at night I'd asked for to watch me as I sleep'. With soaring and world-weary intensity, Boy George utterly commands the refrain: 'You are my sister / and I love you / may all of your dreams come true.' In 'You Are My Sister,' the pair sing from the depths of their hearts for the world. This extended single also includes three new, unreleased songs recorded during the I Am A Bird Now sessions."

Artist:	ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS
Title:	The Crying Light
Label:	SECRETLY CANADIAN
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.50
Catalog #:	SC 194CD

"Antony & The Johnsons' breakthrough second album I Am A Bird Now won the UK's prestigious Mercury Prize in 2005. The success that followed introduced many to a pioneering soul singer unafraid to explore themes that traversed darkness and light, life and death, male and female. Antony's inimitable voice sparked the interest of artists ranging from Bjork to Hercules and Love Affair, resulting in a series of critically acclaimed collaborations. The Crying Light is the highly anticipated full-length follow-up to I Am A Bird Now. Here, Antony shifts the thematic focus and explores his relationship with the natural world. The intimacy of the Johnsons' sound is enveloped by avant-classical composer Nico Muhly's symphonic arrangements. The record's centerpiece, 'Another World' traces the singer's despair in the face of a vanishing landscape. Antony and the Johnsons' music bridges the gap between avant-classical music and the blues, and the band's sold out performances have resulted in standing ovations from Carnegie Hall to the Apollo. The Crying Light is a soul-stirring new work with its daring compositions and captivating vocal performances. Antony and the Johnsons have created a subtle and timely work that brings a magical and yet changing world to the forefront of our consciousness."

Artist:	ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS
Title:	Epilepsy Is Dancing
Label:	SECRETLY CANADIAN
Format:	CD
Price:	$6.00
Catalog #:	SC 199CD

"Epilepsy Is Dancing -- the second single from Antony & The Johnsons' The Crying Light -- is one of the reasons Spin is raving that the band's new material is 'scarily intimate and irresistibly beautiful.' Antony And The Johnsons have again crafted a consummate single with the most unlikely of subjects. The B-side 'Where Is My Power?' burns slowly throughout, hinting at its epic climax anchored by the voice Rolling Stone has called 'a voice of singular majesty, an instrument of delicacy and rapture in which Nina Simone, Morrissey, and Joni Mitchell seem to inhabit the same breath.'"

Previous Page Index of Artists Next Page