Anohni and the Johnsons, the collective vessel of expression helmed by the enigmatic force, Anohni, ascended to the forefront of musical consciousness in the early 2000s. Their sonic concoction, a captivating fusion of soulful chamber pop, gripped hearts and minds, leaving an indelible mark on the auditory landscape.
Born in the vibrant crucible of New York City in 1998, this artistic endeavor, once a revolving door of talent, found its core in Anohni’s haunting vocals and occasional piano mastery. The band embarked on a soul-searching voyage through the depths of introspection, unearthing themes of identity, love, and the tumultuous tapestry of social and political landscapes.
Their debut, Antony and the Johnsons (2000), unleashed Anohni’s mesmerizing voice and poetic revelations upon the world, capturing critical acclaim and setting ablaze the path for their subsequent sonic odysseys. But it was their magnum opus, the illustrious I Am a Bird Now (2005), that catapulted them into the limelight’s unrelenting glare. Collaborating with luminaries such as Boy George, Rufus Wainwright, and Lou Reed, they ascended to new heights, claiming the coveted Mercury Prize as a testament to their artistic prowess.
Relentless in their pursuit of musical enlightenment, they continued to craft tapestries that defied convention. Releasing The Crying Light (2009) and Swanlights (2010) which delved into the realms of identity and spiritual awakening. And although the band dissolved in 2010, Anohni’s creative journey found new life through her solo ventures.
And now, returning with My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross, ANOHNI’s sixth studio album, expresses a world view by shape-shifting through a broad range of subject matter. Through a personal lens, ANOHNI addresses loss of loved ones, inequality, alienation, acceptance, cruelty, ecocide, devastation wrought by abrahamic theologies, future feminism, and the possibility that we might yet transform our ways of thinking, our spiritual ideas, our societal structures, and our relationships with the rest of nature.
On her first full album since 2016’s HOPELESSNESS, she explains the creative process was painstaking, yet also inspired, joyful, and intimate, a renewal and a renaming of her response to the world as she sees it. ‘Some of these songs respond to global and environmental concerns first voiced in popular music over 50 years ago.’
