John Southworth
A mercurial English-Canadian singer/songwriter of great craft, elegance, and wit, John Southworth has consistently painted the corners of smart pop eccentricity since arriving on the Toronto scene in the late '90s. With a penchant for thematic projects with a literate bent, Southworth's shapeshifting music ranges from the quirky indie pop of releases like 2000's Banff Springs Transylvania and 2004's Yosemite to 2012's lush, orchestral Easterween and the understated jazz and folk of his 2014 double-LP masterwork Niagara. A former film student who directs all of his own videos and published an obscure children's book in Japan, Southworth has continued to explore and refine his songs on 2019's subtle Miracle in the Night and the comprehensive 2021 project Rialto, which included an album, podcast, novella, and theatrical live show. Released two years later, 2023's When You're This, This in Love seemed to combine Southworth's myriad music styles under one roof.
Southworth's father was Peter Shelley (not the Buzzcocks' Pete Shelley), a notable English songwriter, producer, and record executive with deep ties to London's '70s glam scene and the A&R man responsible for King Crimson's success. While neither glam nor prog factored into the cultivated brand of highly crafted pop that he would develop throughout his career, Southworth nonetheless carried on in the family business as an English transplant living in Canada. By his mid-twenties, he had based himself in Toronto where he made his debut, 1996's Mars, Pennsylvania. Originally released by the small Water Street imprint, the album earned critical acclaim and was later picked up by U.S. label Bar/None, establishing Southworth as a sophisticated and literate indie pop eccentric with a vast record collection and a timeless feel. Over the next several years, he continued to tour North America and released unusual cross-genre pop albums that frequently explored places and characters both real and imagined. 1999's Sedona, Arizona was followed a year later by Banff Springs Transylvania. The Rose Milk Appalachia EP came next in 2001, making way for 2004's Yosemite. Each was distinctive and deeply imaginative. Employing a versatile group of players from Toronto's improv jazz scene as his backing band, which he called the South Seas, Southworth's music became increasingly organic with heavier jazz and folk tones on 2007's The Pillowmaker and 2011's Human Cry. In between those releases, his harder-edged pop and rock tendencies played out on 2009's hooky Mama Tevatron.
A penchant for peculiar experimental projects has remained a constant throughout Southworth's career and he has often released small-run independent singles, EPs, and even full-length albums like 2011's lo-fi all-acoustic Spiritual War, which was recorded live directly into an inexpensive tape recorder and released only on cassette. His next major release, 2012's Easterween, was a darkly gothic chamber pop collaboration with cellist Andrew Downing, which reflected Southworth's more theatrical tendencies. It was followed later that year by an oddball collection called Failed Jingles for Bank of America and Other U.S. Corporations, which collected 20 wry snippets and actual takes on commercial jingle-writing, all generally under a minute long. His tendency for ambitious concepts came into even sharper focus two years later with the masterful double album Niagara. Like the city it portrayed, the album was split into two sides (Canadian and American) and contained some of the most sublime writing of his prolific career. It also marked the start of a relationship with U.K. label Tin Angel, which also released the more cerebral and electronic-tinged Small Town Water Tower in 2016. After publishing the eerie children's book Daydreams for Night, Southworth returned in 2019, again reverting to his subtler, all-acoustic mode on the hushed and jazzy Miracle in the Night. Two years later, he unveiled what is possibly his most ambitious project yet. Self-described as a "mind movie," Rialto comprised a full-length concept album with fictional characters sung by a full cast of singers (Tamara Lindeman, Felicity Williams, and others) backed by a string quartet, along with an accompanying novella, podcast, and theatrical stage show. To follow-up to Rialto, Southworth returned to something of a more traditional songwriting style. Released in 2023, When You're This, This in Love played almost like an anthology of his various styles from loungey jazz fare to literate folk songs and melodic pop.
© Timothy Monger /TiVo
Discografia
21 álbum(ns) • Ordenado por Mais vendidos
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When you're this, this in love
Alternative & Indie - Lançado por Tin Angel Records em 12 de mai. de 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Niagara
Folk - Lançado por Tin Angel Records em 29 de set. de 2014
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Miracle in the Night
Pop - Lançado por Tin Angel Records em 26 de abr. de 2019
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Easterween
John Southworth, Andrew Downing
Rock - Lançado por Sud De Valeur em 3 de abr. de 2012
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mars Pennsylvania
Rock - Lançado por Bar - None Records em 3 de jun. de 2008
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Pillowmaker
Folk - Lançado por Sud De Valeur em 15 de out. de 2006
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Banff Springs Transylvania
Alternative & Indie - Lançado por Sud De Valeur em 18 de nov. de 2000
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sedona, Arizona
Pop - Lançado por Water Street Records em 21 de fev. de 2022
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Down in the Under
Country - Lançado por Tin Angel Records em 9 de mar. de 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Underground Cinema
Soundtracks - Lançado por Tin Angel Records em 13 de set. de 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Real the Reel
Soundtracks - Lançado por Tin Angel Records em 13 de set. de 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Lost Child of the Railroad
Soundtracks - Lançado por Tin Angel Records em 13 de set. de 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mama Tevatron
Pop - Lançado por Sud De Valeur em 24 de jun. de 2009
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Yosemite
Alternative & Indie - Lançado por Sud De Valeur em 19 de mai. de 2005
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
You Are What You Dream
Soundtracks - Lançado por Tin Angel Records em 13 de set. de 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
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Silver Film Canister
Folk - Lançado por Tin Angel Records em 16 de ago. de 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Courier Pilgrim
Soundtracks - Lançado por Tin Angel Records em 30 de ago. de 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo