Sufjan Stevens

Sufjan Stevens (2015)

Chart positions Explanation of the data

Albums

Illinois   US 121  gold 07/23/2005 (8 weeks) The Avalanche   UK 84 07/22/2006 (1 week)   US 71 07/29/2006 (2 weeks) Songs for Christmas   US 122 12/09/2006 (3 weeks) The BQE OST   US 171 07/11/2009 (1 week) The Age of Adz   DE 73 10/22/2010 (1 week)   CH 48 October 24, 2010 (2 weeks)   UK 30th 23/10/2010 (2 weeks)   US 7th 10/30/2010 (6 weeks) Silver & Gold   US 70 December 01, 2012 (1 week) Carrie & Lowell   DE 51 04/10/2015 (3 weeks)   AT 68 04/10/2015 (1 week)   CH 29 04/05/2015 (3 weeks)   UK 6th  silver 04/11/2015 (7 weeks)   US 10 04/18/2015 (7 weeks) Planetarium (with Nico Muhly, Bryce Dessner & James McAlister)   DE 82 06/16/2017 (1 week)   CH 60 06/18/2017 (1 week)   UK 92 06/22/2017 (1 week)   US 104 07/01/2017 (1 week)

EPs

All Delighted People EP   US 27 04.09.2010 (4 weeks)

Sufjan Stevens (born July 1, 1975 in Detroit , Michigan ) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist . Among other things, he plays guitar , banjo , piano , organ , bass , oboe , saxophone , flute , accordion and drums . He currently lives in New York .

Biography and artistic creation

His music is folk - and independent - Genre to settle. Stevens created their own album for the two US states Michigan and Illinois ( Greetings from Michigan and Come On Feel the Illinois! ). The truth of the widespread message that he will also record his own albums for the rest of the United States is unclear. Both confirmatory and denial interview statements can be found, often in a self-deprecating context.

While his debut A Sun Came was still mainly in the areas of folk, indie and guitar rock, he experimented with electronic sounds and elements of new music on the instrumental album Enjoy Your Rabbit . With the following albums Stevens found an idiosyncratic style that combines folk and rock elements with complex orchestrations, polyphonic choirs and the intricate rhythms of art rock .

In 2005 Sufjan Stevens received the New Pantheon Award (also Shortlist Music Prize ) for his album Illinois and was able to assert himself against nominated artists such as Arcade Fire , Kings of Leon , Antony & The Johnsons , Bloc Party and The Decemberists .

The songs Chicago and No Man's Land from the albums Come On Feel the Illinois! and The Avalanche were used in the 2006 independent film Little Miss Sunshine . In addition, his song For the Widows in Paradise, For the Fatherless in Ypsilanti was used for the television series OC, California at Johnny's funeral. His song John Wayne Gacy, Jr. can also be heard in the third season of the series Nip / Tuck - Beauty Has Its Price .

The perpetual self, or "What would Saul Alinsky do" from the album The Avalanche became famous in 2010 as the title for the trailer for the film Babies . Under the terms of s / s / s and Sisyphus Sufjan Stevens produced together with Son Lux and Serengeti 2012, the EP Beak & Claw and 2014 album Sisyphus .

The seventh studio album, Carrie & Lowell, which was released in 2015, received excellent reviews and was described by many critics as Sufjan's best work. Among other things, it was considered one of the best albums of the year.

Stevens was nominated for an Oscar in 2018 for the title Mystery of Love from the film Call Me by Your Name . In late June 2018, Stevens became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences .

In 2020 Stevens recorded the album Aporia with his stepfather Lowell Brams , which is characterized by New Age synthesizers and is close to a hauntological sound aesthetic.

Discography (selection)

Studio albums

• A Sun Came (2000)
• Enjoy Your Rabbit (2001)
• Michigan (also Greetings from Michigan: The Great Lake State ; 2003)
• Seven Swans (2004)
• Illinois (also Come on Feel the Illinois!; 2005) (UK:silver)
• The Avalanche (outtakes from Illinois ; 2006)
• The Age of Adz (2010)
• Carrie & Lowell (2015)
• The Greatest Gift (outtakes from Carrie & Lowell ; 2017)

Soundtrack albums

• The BQE (The Brooklyn-Queens Expressway) (2009)
• The Decalouge (2019) (with Timo Andres)

Collab albums

• Planetarium (2017) (with Bryce Dessner , Nico Muhly , and James McAlister)
• Aporia (2020) (with Lowell Brams)

Live albums

• Carrie & Lowell Live (2017)

EPs

• All Delighted People EP (2010)
• Hit & Run Vol. 1 (2012) (with Rosie Thomas )

Christmas albums

• Songs for Christmas (2006; 5 EPs)
• Silver and Gold (2012; 5 EPs)

Singles (as a solo artist)

• The Dress Looks Nice on You (2004)
• I Went Dancing With my Sister (2009)
• I Walked (2010)
• Too Much (2010)
• A Little Lost (2014)
• No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross (2015)
• Should Have Known Better (2015)
• Carrie & Lowell (2015)
• Exploding Whale (2015)
• Blue Bucket of Gold (Remix) (2015)
• Chicago (Demo) (2016)
• Saturn (2017)
• Wallowa Lake Monster (2017)
• John My Beloved (iPhone Demo) (2017)
• Blue Bucket of Gold (Live) (2017)
• Mystery of Love (2017)
• Tonya Harding (2017)
• Love Yourself / With My Whole Heart (2019)
• America (2020)
• Video Game (2020)

swell

1. ↑ ^{a b} Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US
2. ↑ Music Sales Awards: UK US
3. ↑ http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1527296/20060329/stevens_sufjan.jhtml?headlines=true
4. ↑ http://www.amazon.de/Little-Miss-Sunshine-Original-Soundtrack/dp/B000FZESMQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1284885574&sr=8-1
5. ^ Gregg Kilday: Academy Invites Record 928 New Members. In: The Hollywood Reporter, June 25, 2018.
6. ↑ ByteFM Editor: New Age Biker: Sufjan Stevens and Lowell Brams. In: https://www.byte.fm/ . ByteFM, February 26, 2020, accessed February 26, 2020 . 

Web links

• Literature by and about Sufjan Stevens in the catalog of the German National Library
• Official website (English)
• Die Zeit article: "Illinoisemaker"
• Die Zeit article: "Landesseelenkunde"
• Knowledge workshop Invitation to Sufjan Stevens' wonderland