john grant - 'queen of denmark'

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A brilliant songwriter.

john grant mini-desk concert

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17 minutes and 20 seconds worth of John Grant performing a mini-concert at his desk. That's my lunchtime sorted!

hercules and love affair (feat. john grant) - 'black belt'

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Returning the favour after Hercules and Love Affair remixed 'Black Belt' from his last album, John Grant guests on this cracking tune. 

The subject matter deals with becoming HIV positive and I do wonder if John Grant is painting himself into a corner with his choice of subject matter. Fair play to the chap for coming out and being so honest about his sexuality and the struggles that he and others have faced but if I can draw parallels with Antony and the Johnsons it has started to define who he is as a singer/songwriter and he is so much more than that. I'd really like to see him lighten up a bit more with a few disco tracks where he's taking the pee and smiling. 

Taking all that into account, this is still a cracking tune and Grant once again delivers a monumentally good performance.

john grant - 'that's the good news'

Tweet He played a brilliant set last night at the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill and one of the highlights was this track that he did with the obligatory fake German accent.

john grant - 'glacier'

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I'm really looking forward to seeing him perform at the De La Warr Pavilion later this year and my enthusiasm has been buoyed further by this brilliant new video to his single Glacier from last year's superb album. 

john grant live at the jazz cafe 18/10/2013

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I went with a few friends last night to legendary Camden venue, the Jazz Cafe to see John Grant.The gig was pretty damn awesome, the man played a superb set to a very appreciative and respectful audience. I didn't see anyone filming it and the pauses in his songs were left silent and not a cue to start clapping/whistling/shouting out something inane. This surprised and pleased me. Proof that most people had heard and listened to the albums.

I think his move to Iceland has suited him. There's no doubting where Gus Gus have influenced and given him new musical avenues to explore. We started with techno and it worked well live, his band were excellent although the heavier electronic pieces did look like a lot of them were synching to it. Only on a few songs did he really let rip with that lovely voice of his but perhaps that is what makes it such a treat. His in-between songs chatter with the crowd was very warm and personable with him name-dropping other musicians he'd met recently and referencing his sexuality often. JG seems to be quite comfortable about it now and I suppose that when I think about it this shows a bit more with the lyrics to this latest album as opposed to 'The Queen of Denmark'. That's not to say that there's no venom in Pale Green Ghosts - there's a track called 'Greatest Motherf**ker' on it for a start. He played a few favourites from the QoD album - most notably 'Chicken Bones' and 'Marz'. I forget which track he dedicated to Midlake who were in the audience with us. That was pretty cool too.

All in all a great night and a real shame that with the gig in London, my girlfriend and I had to dash halfway through the encore. This was the first time I have seen him live and I recommend the experience. It has enhanced and put some more context into the albums and I'm definitely going to revisit them with a new appreciation.

This is a great remix from the Limited Edition version of Pale Green Ghosts (which I'm very pleased I splashed out for).

john grant - 'sensitive new age guy'

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I like his new album a lot. It's a collaboration from those lovely chaps at Gus Gus so as you can imagine it's got quite an electronic pop feel to it and certainly development from the Queen of Denmark first album with its folk-twinged edges. The deluxe CD comes with some lovely remixes too that I might feature at a later date. Not the dubstep remix though.