“’Hopelessness’ is as forceful as it is thrilling.”
– Los Angeles Times “Best Pop Music of 2016 (so far)”
“It may leave you uncertain whether to dance or collapse in tears, which is the operative dichotomy of an extraordinary record fusing disco uplift, blues pain-purging, gospel salvation-seeking, and protest song testifying.”
– Rolling Stone “Best Albums of 2016 So Far”
“The acclaimed singer’s shift to experimental pop will move you to dance—and maybe save the world, with its dark tales of climate change and drone bombs.”
– Entertainment Weekly “Best Albums of 2016 (so far)”
ANOHNI, lead singer of Antony and the Johnsons, released HOPELESSNESS earlier this year via Secretly Canadian and Rough Trade. Leading into the end of the year, ANOHNI presents the video for the album’s title track. It’s a song that “demonstrates how a cry of despair can transform into a call for re-engagement . . . Doubled and tripled in a mix whose rhythms recall South African freedom songs, it deconstructs the process of uplift arising from the ashes of grief.” (NPR Music)
“I am a human, a warm-blooded creature. I love the kaleidoscopic faces of life on earth. Yet my species is aggressively destroying biodiversity and poisoning the biosphere. It is hard to accept myself. I feel like I am behaving like a virus. I keep lying to myself in order to continue forward.” – Anohni
Filmmaker Alexander Carver, who directed the video for “Hopelessness,” describes it as such, “Medieval barbarism and fascistic architecture haunt the fever dream of an anonymous corporate woman. Within the dream, distant past and distant futures are irrationally fused in a bizarre, iconic vision of martyrdom where animals are citizens and people are drones.”
A collaboration with Hudson Mohawke and Oneohtrix Point Never, HOPELESSNESS is a dance record with soulful vocals and lyrics addressing surveillance, drone warfare and ecocide. It’s a radical departure from ANOHNI’s symphonic collaborations as it seeks to disrupt assumptions about popular music through the collision of electronic sound and highly politicized lyrics. The album and select live performances have garnered praise across the globe, including a nomination for the Mercury Prize.
Watch/Listen/Share:
HOPELESSNESS Stream — https://open.spotify.com/album/3dAx4u7AJy72a6M1ms6uYF
“I Don’t Love You Anymore” Video – https://youtu.be/PemmoQj2tqY
“Drone Bomb Me” Video — https://youtu.be/aUEoic7ro_o
“4 Degrees” Stream — https://youtu.be/Fi0q0O4V5Qs
