Anohni and the Johnsons (previously known as Antony and the Johnsons) is an American chamber pop musical collective, formed in New York City in 1995. Presenting the work of English singer-songwriter Anohni and her collaborators, the band released their self-titled debut album in 2000. Their second album, 2005's I Am a Bird Now, was certified Gold in the United Kingdom, Sweden and Switzerland; it also saw the band take out that year's Mercury Prize.
Following the release of The Crying Light (2009) and Swanlights (2010), as well as the live album Cut the World (2012), the project was ultimately disbanded in 2015 following a series of shows in Australia. Anohni then pursued a solo career, with her debut album Hopelessness being released the following year. The project was later revived in 2023, with the band releasing their fifth album My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross in July of that year.
Anohni and the Johnsons have received considerable critical acclaim in addition to their chart success and winning of multiple awards. Much of the focus has been on Anohni's unique singing voice, which has been compared to artists such as Nina Simone, Brian Ferry and Jimmy Scott. As a performer, The Guardian has described Anohni as being "gifted with a vibrato voice – think Nina Simone, Billie Holiday – that sighs with sincerity and the lyrical prowess to make the profoundly personal both accessible and ambiguous."
Career
British experimental musician David Tibet of Current 93 heard a demo and offered to release Anohni's music through his Durtro label. Anohni started the band, its name inspired by her deadname and the trans activist Marsha P. Johnson. The self-titled debut album, Antony and the Johnsons, was released in 2000. In 2001, while still known as Antony Hegarty, Anohni released a short follow-up EP, I Fell in Love with a Dead Boy, which, in addition to the title track, included a cover of "Mysteries of Love", a David Lynch/Angelo Badalamenti song and "Soft Black Stars", a Current 93 cover.
Producer Hal Willner heard the EP and played it to Lou Reed, who recruited Hegarty for his project The Raven. Now gaining more attention, Hegarty signed to U.S.-based record label Secretly Canadian, and released another EP, The Lake, with Lou Reed guest-performing on one of the tracks. Secretly Canadian re-released Hegarty's debut album in the United States to wider distribution in 2004.
Anohni's second full-length album, 2005's I Am a Bird Now, was met with positive reviews and significantly more mainstream attention. The album featured guest appearances by Lou Reed, Rufus Wainwright, Boy George, and Devendra Banhart, and circled themes of duality and transformation. I Am a Bird Now featured arrangements by Maxim Moston and Julia Kent and was mixed by Doug Henderson. In September 2005 Antony and the Johnsons were awarded the Mercury Prize for the best UK album of 2005. Rival Mercury nominees, and favorites for the prize, the Kaiser Chiefs suggested that Anohni got in on a technicality; despite the fact she was born in the United Kingdom she spent much of her time in the U.S.—although they later apologized for the suggestion that she wasn't a deserving winner.
In 2005, Antony and the Johnsons' single "Hope There's Someone" featured in Spanish director Isabel Coixet's film The Secret Life of Words. The group collaborated with experimental filmmaker Charles Atlas and presented Tuning in November 2006 in Rome, London, Paris, Madrid, and Braga. Thirteen women from New York City were presented in intimate live video portraits during the course of the concert. The Guardian called the piece "fragile, life affirming, and truly wonderful (five stars)". Le Monde in Paris hailed Turning as "Concert-manifeste transsexuel".
The 2007 film about Bob Dylan, I'm Not There, featured their cover of his song "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" on the soundtrack release.
Antony and the Johnsons' 5-song Another World EP was released on October 7, 2008. Antony and the Johnsons' third album, The Crying Light, was released on January 19, 2009, and went to No. 1 on the European Billboard charts. Anohni has described the theme of the album as being "about landscape and the future". Nature, death, love and the role of the artist were explored across ten tracks, which included the single "Epilepsy Is Dancing". The album was mixed by Bryce Goggin and included arrangements by Nico Muhly.