Beth Jeans Houghton (a.k.a. Du Blonde) (born 3 January 1990) is an English multi-disciplinary musician, composer, artist, animator and video director. Their influences range from psychedelic rock,

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

, blues, 1960s garage rock and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

. They create art under their birth name, Beth Jeans Houghton, using photography, illustration, animation, video, sculpture and embroidery. They have directed and animated music videos for multiple artists including the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ezra Furman, and Laura Marling's band LUMP. They write, perform and produce music under the name Du Blonde.

Biography

Beth Jeans Houghton was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Houghton started writing songs in their teens. At sixteen they left school and bought a

Fender Stratocaster The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of electric guitar designed from 1952 into 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has continuousl ...

, which they taught themselves to play. Houghton first appeared in front of an audience in 2006; their debut release, titled ''EP'' (a limited-edition 7-inch), was on Bird Records in 2008. They signed then with

Static Caravan Recordings Static Caravan Recordings is an independent record label based in the North West of England, whose artist releases include singles and albums by Darren Hayman, the Hornblower Brothers, Hannah Peel, Erland & the Carnival, Shady Bard, the Ye ...

, which released the single "Golden"/"Nightswimmer", produced by Adem, and their second EP, ''Hot Toast, Vol. 1'' (produced by Mike Lindsay of the band

Tunng Tunng are an English folk music band. They are often associated with the folktronica genre, due to the electronic influences evident in some of their work. Tunng are often noted for their use of unconventional instruments, including seashells a ...

), both of which earned acclaim from the UK press. Houghton signed in early 2011 with Mute Records, releasing their debut long-player, '' Yours Truly, Cellophane Nose'' in early 2012. The album was recorded with

Ben Hillier Ben Hillier is an English songwriter and pop-rock record producer who is part of the creative team 140 dB. He produced the notable albums ''Playing the Angel'', ''Sounds of the Universe'' and ''Delta Machine'' by Depeche Mode, ''Think Tank ...

whose previous production credits include Blur, Depeche Mode and

Elbow The elbow is the region between the arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and the me ...

. ''Yours Truly, Cellophane Nose'' by Beth Jeans Houghton and the Hooves of Destiny was released on 6 February 2012, and reached number 83 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

. Houghton and the Hooves of Destiny toured the UK and Europe extensively during 2011 and 2012, appearing at multiple festivals including

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbur ...

, The Great Escape,

Latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...

and

Bestival Bestival was a four-day music festival held in the south of England. It had been held annually in the late summer since 2004 at Robin Hill on the Isle of Wight. In 2017 the festival relocated to the Lulworth Estate in Dorset. The event was organ ...

. In April 2012, the band performed on '' Later... with Jools Holland'' alongside

Paul Weller Paul John Weller (born John William Weller; 25 May 1958) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame with the punk rock/ new wave/mod revival band the Jam (1972–1982). He had further success with the blue-eyed soul mu ...

and

Willis Earl Beal Willis Earl Beal (also known as Nobody) is an artist and musician. Early years Willis Earl Beal was born on the south side of Chicago, Illinois. In his early twenties Beal joined the U.S. Army, moving to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Beal was ...

. After touring supporting ''

Welcome Back To Milk ''Welcome Back To Milk '' is the second studio album by Beth Jeans Houghton and the first for her as Du Blonde, to be released in the United Kingdom on 18 May 2015 (and on May 19 in the United States), by Mute Records. The album was written, compo ...

'', Houghton began work on issue 1 of their comic books series 'Butt Hurt', focusing on bringing to life their vivid dreams and uncomfortable social situations. Having been a lifelong sufferer of anxiety, Houghton's work often touches upon discomfort, using humour to help ease their symptoms and dispel stigma surrounding mental health. During November 2016, Houghton directed and illustrated the animated music video for " Sick Love" by the

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk ...

. Houghton had previously dated the band's singer Anthony Kiedis. The video was released on 4 December 2016. On 27 March 2018, Houghton's music video for Ezra Furman's "Suck The Blood From My Wound" was released via the Bella Union label. Houghton directed, illustrated and animated the clip. On 20 November 2018, LUMP released the video for their single "May I Be The Light", also directed, illustrated and animated by Houghton.

Du Blonde

During 2014, Houghton began writing and recording music under the name Du Blonde. ''

'', the debut album for Houghton as Du Blonde, recorded in London and Los Angeles with producer Jim Sclavunos, was released on 19 May 2015 by Mute Records. It garnered favourable reviews, with 75/100 rating at

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

. Du Blonde's second album, '' Lung Bread for Daddy'', was released on 22 February 2019 via Moshi Moshi. The album is the first to be produced by Houghton, taking a journey into relationships and mental health of the musician. Du Blonde's third album, titled ''Homecoming'', was released in early 2021. The album, self-produced by Houghton, will feature guest artists including Shirley Manson, Andy Bell, Ezra Furman, and members of

. Lead single "Medicated", featuring Manson, was released in November 2020, and follow-up "I'm Glad That We Broke Up", with Furman, came out on 4 February 2021.

Personal life

In 2013, Houghton suffered from anxiety. Of their practice of

Transcendental Meditation Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a form of silent mantra meditation advocated by the Transcendental Meditation movement. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi created the technique in India in the mid-1950s. Advocates of TM claim that the technique promotes ...

, begun at this time, they said, "To now know confidently I can deal with my anxiety is such a good place to be." Houghton is

non-binary Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

and

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

Artists supported

* Adem *

Bon Iver Bon Iver ( ) is an American indie folk band founded in 2006 by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. Vernon released Bon Iver's debut album, ''For Emma, Forever Ago,'' independently in July 2007. The majority of the album was recorded while Vernon ...

Bowerbirds Bowerbirds () make up the bird family Ptilonorhynchidae. They are renowned for their unique courtship behaviour, where males build a structure and decorate it with sticks and brightly coloured objects in an attempt to attract a mate. The family ...

Cornershop Cornershop are a British indie rock band best known for their single "Brimful of Asha", originally released in 1997 and, in a remixed version, topping the UK chart in 1998. The band was formed in 1991 by Wolverhampton-born Tjinder Singh (singe ...

Euros Childs Euros Childs (; Welsh: ; born 16 April 1975) is a Welsh musician and songwriter, perhaps best known as the frontman for the band Gorky's Zygotic Mynci and—as of January 2019—the keyboardist for Teenage Fanclub. His sister, violinist Megan C ...

Fionn Regan Fionn Regan (born 1981) is an Irish folk musician and singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Bray, Regan came to prominence with the release of his debut studio album, '' The End of History'' in 2006. He had been releasing extended plays for six ...

Future Islands Future Islands is an American synth-pop band based in Baltimore, Maryland, comprising Gerrit Welmers (keyboards and programming), William Cashion (bass, acoustic and electric guitars), Samuel T. Herring (lyrics and vocals), and Michael Lowry (p ...

* Garbage * Gary Numan *

Imogen Heap Imogen Jennifer Heap (born 9 December 1977) is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Her work has been considered pioneering in pop and electropop music. Heap classically trained in piano, cello and clarinet starting at a ...

King Creosote Kenny Anderson (born January 1967), known primarily by his stage name King Creosote, is an independent singer-songwriter from Fife, Scotland. To date, Anderson has released over forty albums, with his latest full length, '' Astronaut Meets Appl ...

Mumford & Sons Mumford & Sons is a British folk rock band formed in London in 2007. The band currently consists of Marcus Mumford (lead vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drums), Ted Dwane (vocals, bass guitar, double bass), and Ben Lovett (vocals, k ...

* Mystery Jets *

Phosphorescent Phosphorescence is a type of photoluminescence related to fluorescence. When exposed to light (radiation) of a shorter wavelength, a phosphorescent substance will glow, absorbing the light and reemitting it at a longer wavelength. Unlike fluor ...

Scott Matthews Scott Matthews is an English singer-songwriter from Wolverhampton, England.

* St. Vincent * Stephen Fretwell *

Tinariwen Tinariwen ( Tamasheq: , with vowels , pronounced ''tinariwen'' "deserts", plural of ''ténéré'' "desert") is a collective of Tuareg musicians from the Sahara Desert region of northern Mali. Considered a pioneer of desert blues, the group's gu ...

Discography

Albums

*'' Yours Truly, Cellophane Nose'' (2012) no. 83 UK *''

Welcome Back to Milk ''Welcome Back To Milk '' is the second studio album by Beth Jeans Houghton and the first for her as Du Blonde, to be released in the United Kingdom on 18 May 2015 (and on May 19 in the United States), by Mute Records. The album was written, compo ...

'' (2015, as Du Blonde) *'' Lung Bread for Daddy'' (2019, as Du Blonde) *''Homecoming'' (2021, as Du Blonde)

EPs

*''EP'' – June 2008 *''Hot Toast Vol 1'' – September 2009

Singles

*"Golden / Nightswimmer" – Static Caravan, 2009 *"Dodecahedron" – Mute, 2011 *"Sweet Tooth Bird" – Mute, 2012 *"Atlas" – Mute, 2012

References

External links

du blonde website {{DEFAULTSORT:Houghton, Beth Jeans 1990 births Living people Musicians from Newcastle upon Tyne Mute Records artists British folk-pop singers 21st-century English singers Non-binary musicians English LGBT musicians British LGBT singers LGBT animators Transgender singers Transgender non-binary people 21st-century LGBT people