安东尼与强森

Anohni and the Johnsons (previously known as Antony and the Johnsons) is a music ensemble originally based in New York City that presents the work of English singer-songwriter Anohni and her collaborators. The band released its 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 was awarded that year's UK Mercury Prize.

Following the release of The Crying Light (2009) and Swanlights (2010), as well as the live album Cut the World (2012), Anohni released a solo electronic album in collaboration with Hudson Mohawke and Daniel Lopatin called Hopelessness in 2016. In 2023, Anohni returned as "Anohni and the Johnsons" with the release of her sixth 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 chart success and award nominations. Anohni's unique singing voice has been compared to artists such as Nina Simone, Bryan 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."

History

Anohni founded the NYC-based experimental theater group the Johnsons in 1995, choosing the name in honor of the NYC trans and human-rights activist Marsha P. Johnson. She assembled a group of musicians in 1997 to record her first album and began performing concerts in NYC as Antony and the Johnsons in 1997. British experimental musician David Tibet of Current 93 heard a demo and offered to release Anohni's music through his Durtro label. The self-titled debut album, Antony and the Johnsons, was released in 2000. In 2001, 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 for Lou Reed, who recruited Anohni for his project The Raven; Anohni sang a version of Reed's 1972 song "Perfect Day". Now gaining more attention, Anohni 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 Anohni's debut album in the United States to wider distribution in 2004. As one of the artists selected for that year's Whitney Biennial, Anohni presented Turning, a series of concerts as Antony and the Johnsons in tandem with live video portraits of 13 femme underground NYC figures including Connie Flemming, Honey Dijon, Kembra Pfahler, Joey Gabriel and Nomi Ruiz, in collaboration with film-maker Charles Atlas.

Antony and the Johnsons' 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 conceded that it was "a good album".

Following the success of I Am a Bird Now, in November 2006 Anohni re-staged Turning in Rome, London, Paris, Madrid, and Braga. The NYC cast of performers additionally included Julia Yasuda, Eliza Douglas, and Johanna Constantine. The Guardian called the piece "fragile, life affirming, and truly wonderful (five stars)"

. Le Monde in Paris described Turning as "Concert-manifeste transsexuel".

In 2005, Antony and the Johnsons' single "Hope There's Someone" was featured in Spanish director Isabel Coixet's film The Secret Life of Words, and the 2007 film based on the life of Bob Dylan, I'm Not There, featured Anohni's cover of "Knockin' On Heaven's Door".

Antony and the Johnsons' five-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.