Sufjan Stevens ( ; born July 1, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released nine solo studio albums and multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has received
Grammy and
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
nominations.
His debut album, ''
A Sun Came'', was released in 2000 on the
Asthmatic Kitty
Asthmatic Kitty is an American independent record label founded in 1999 by a community of musicians from Holland, Michigan led by Sufjan Stevens and his stepfather Lowell Brams. Some were Holland natives, and others had come to attend local coll ...
label, which he co-founded with his stepfather. He received wide recognition for his 2005 album ''
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
'', which hit number one on the
''Billboard'' Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...
chart, and for the single "
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
" from that album. Stevens later contributed to the soundtrack of the 2017 film ''
Call Me by Your Name Call Me by Your Name may refer to:
* ''Call Me by Your Name'' (novel), a 2007 novel by André Aciman
* ''Call Me by Your Name'' (film), a 2017 film based on the novel, directed by Luca Guadagnino
** '' Call Me by Your Name: Original Motion Pictur ...
''. He received an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
nomination for
Best Original Song
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
and a Grammy nomination for
Best Song Written for Visual Media
The Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media (including its previous names) is the Grammy Awards awarded to songs written for films, television, video games or other visual media.
Recipients
* Each year is linked t ...
for the soundtrack's lead single, "
Mystery of Love."
Stevens has released albums of varying styles, from the
electronica of ''
The Age of Adz'' and the
lo-fi
Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate choice. The ...
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fo ...
of ''
Seven Swans
''Seven Swans'' is a folk rock music album by Sufjan Stevens, released on March 16, 2004 on Sounds Familyre Records. It is Stevens' fourth studio album and features songs about Christian spiritual themes, figures such as Abraham, and Christ's Tran ...
'' to the symphonic instrumentation of ''Illinois'' and Christmas-themed ''
Songs for Christmas''. He employs various instruments, often playing many of them himself on the same recording. Stevens' music is also known for exploring various themes, particularly religion and spirituality. Stevens' tenth and latest studio album, ''
A Beginner's Mind
''A Beginner's Mind'' is a collaborative album by American musicians Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine. The album was released by Asthmatic Kitty on September 24, 2021. After being teased by Asthmatic Kitty for several days, the album was form ...
'', was created alongside
Angelo De Augustine and released in 2021.
Early life
Stevens was born in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
,
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
, and lived there until the age of nine, when his family moved to
Alanson, Michigan, in the
northern part of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. He was raised by his father, Rasjid, and his stepmother, Pat, only occasionally visiting his mother, Carrie, in
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
after she married her second husband, Lowell Brams.
Brams later became the head of Stevens' record label
Asthmatic Kitty
Asthmatic Kitty is an American independent record label founded in 1999 by a community of musicians from Holland, Michigan led by Sufjan Stevens and his stepfather Lowell Brams. Some were Holland natives, and others had come to attend local coll ...
.
His brother Marzuki Stevens is a former professional road runner. Stevens is of Lithuanian and Greek descent.
Stevens attended the
Detroit Waldorf School
The Detroit Waldorf School is a private PreK-8 Waldorf school located at 2555 Burns, Detroit, Michigan in an Albert Kahn-designed school in the historic Indian Village neighborhood. In 2016, the building was designated a Michigan State Historic ...
, Alanson Public Schools and
Interlochen Arts Academy
Interlochen Center for the Arts is a non-profit corporation which operates arts education institutions and performance venues in northwest Michigan. It is situated on a campus in Interlochen, Michigan, roughly southwest of Traverse City.
...
, and graduated from Harbor Light Christian School. He then attended
Hope College
Hope College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Holland, Michigan. It was originally opened in 1851 as the Pioneer School by Dutch immigrants four years after the community was first settled. The first freshman college class matricu ...
in
Holland, Michigan
Holland is a city in the western region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan on Lake Macatawa, which is fed by the Macatawa River (formerly known locally as the Black Ri ...
, where he graduated
Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...
, and then earned an
MFA from
The New School
The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...
in New York City.
While in school, Stevens studied the oboe and English horn, which he plays on his albums. Stevens did not learn to play the guitar until his time at Hope College.
''
Sufjan'' means "comes with a sword."
The name most famously belonged to
Abu Sufyan
Sakhr ibn Harb ibn Umayya ibn Abd Shams ( ar, صخر بن حرب بن أمية بن عبد شمس, Ṣakhr ibn Ḥarb ibn Umayya ibn ʿAbd Shams; ), better known by his '' kunya'' Abu Sufyan ( ar, أبو سفيان, Abū Sufyān), was a prominent ...
, a figure from early Islamic history. The name was given to Stevens by the founder of
Subud
Subud (pronounced ), acronym of Susila Budhi Dharma, is an international, interfaith spirituality, spiritual movement that began in Indonesia in the 1920s, founded by Muhammad Subuh Sumohadiwidjojo (1901–1987). The basis of Subud is a spir ...
, an interfaith spiritual community to which his parents belonged when he was born.
Career
Early career and the Fifty States Project (1995–2006)
![Sufjan Stevens playing banjo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Sufjan_Stevens_playing_banjo.jpg)
Stevens began his musical career as a member of
Marzuki, a folk-rock band from Holland, Michigan, as well as garage band Con Los Dudes.
He also played (and continues to play) various instruments for
Danielson Famile
Danielson is an American rock band from Clarksboro, New Jersey, that plays indie pop gospel music. The group consists of frontman Daniel Smith and a number of various artists with whom he collaborates. Smith has also released solo work as Brot ...
. During his final semester at
Hope College
Hope College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Holland, Michigan. It was originally opened in 1851 as the Pioneer School by Dutch immigrants four years after the community was first settled. The first freshman college class matricu ...
, Stevens wrote and recorded his debut solo album, ''
A Sun Came'', which he released on Asthmatic Kitty Records.
He later moved to New York City, where he enrolled in a writing program at
The New School for Social Research
The New School for Social Research (NSSR) is a graduate-level educational institution that is one of the divisions of The New School in New York City, United States. The university was founded in 1919 as a home for progressive era thinkers. NSS ...
. During his time at the New School, Stevens developed a preoccupation with the short story form, which he believed would lead him to write a novel, but ultimately returned him to songwriting.
While in New York, Stevens composed and recorded the music for his second album, ''
Enjoy Your Rabbit'', a
song cycle
A song cycle (german: Liederkreis or Liederzyklus) is a group, or cycle (music), cycle, of individually complete Art song, songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online''
The songs are either for solo voice ...
based around the animals of the
Chinese zodiac
The Chinese zodiac is a traditional classification scheme based on the lunar calendar that assigns an animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating twelve-year cycle. Originating from China, the zodiac and its variations remain ...
that delved into
electronica.
Stevens followed this with the album ''
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
'', a collection of folk songs and instrumentals. It includes odes to cities including Detroit and
Flint
Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and sta ...
, the
Upper Peninsula
The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by ...
, and vacation areas such as
Tahquamenon Falls
The Tahquamenon Falls ( or ) are a series of waterfalls on the Tahquamenon River, shortly before it empties into Lake Superior, in the northeastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan. They are the largest waterfalls in Michigan, and one of the larges ...
and the
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is a United States National Lakeshore located along the northwest coast of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan in Leelanau and Benzie counties near Empire, Michigan. The park covers a stretch of Lake Michiga ...
. Melded into the scenic descriptions and characters are his own declarations of faith, sorrow, love, and the regeneration of Michigan. Beginning with the album, Stevens announced his intent to write an album for each of the 50 U.S. states, which he termed the Fifty States Project. Following the release of ''Michigan'', Stevens compiled a collection of songs recorded previously into a side project, the album ''
Seven Swans
''Seven Swans'' is a folk rock music album by Sufjan Stevens, released on March 16, 2004 on Sounds Familyre Records. It is Stevens' fourth studio album and features songs about Christian spiritual themes, figures such as Abraham, and Christ's Tran ...
'', which was released in March 2004. Stevens did not leave his job in the children's book division at Time Warner until touring for ''Seven Swans''.
Next, he released the second in the Fifty States project, titled ''
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
''. Among the subjects explored on ''Illinois'' are the cities of Chicago,
Decatur and
Jacksonville
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
; the
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...
of 1893, the death of a friend on
Casimir Pulaski Day
Casimir Pulaski Day is a local holiday officially observed in Illinois, on the first Monday of March in memory of Casimir Pulaski (March 6, 1745 – October 11, 1779), a Revolutionary War cavalry officer born in Poland as Kazimierz Pułaski. ...
, the poet
Carl Sandburg
Carl August Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) was an American poet, biographer, journalist, and editor. He won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. During his lifetime, Sandburg ...
, and the serial killer
John Wayne Gacy
John Wayne Gacy (March 17, 1942 – May 10, 1994) was an American serial killer and sex offender who raped, tortured, and murdered at least 33 young men and boys. Gacy regularly performed at children's hospitals and charitable events as " ...
. Stevens had spent the second half of 2004 researching and writing material for the album. As with ''Michigan'', Stevens used the state of
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
as a leaping-off point for his more personal explorations of faith, family, love, and location. Though slated for release on July 5, 2005, the album was briefly delayed by legal issues regarding the use of an image of
Superman in the original album cover artwork. In the double vinyl release, a balloon sticker was placed over Superman on the cover art of the first 5,000 copies. The next printings had an empty space where the Superman image was, as with the CD release. ''Illinois'' was widely acclaimed and was the highest-rated album of 2005 on the
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
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 ...
. The 2006
PLUG Independent Music Awards The PLUG Independent Music Awards, or just PLUG Awards, began in 2001 as a "cartel" of music lovers ranging from DJs and managers to indie retailers and fans.
Winners
Album of the Year
Americana Album of the Year
Avant Album of the Year
DJ ...
awarded Stevens with the Album of the Year, Best Album Art/Packaging, and Male Artist of the Year. ''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
'', ''No Ripcord'', and ''
Paste'' magazine named ''Illinois'' as the editors' choice for best album of 2005, and Stevens received the 2005 Pantheon prize, awarded to noteworthy albums selling fewer than 500,000 copies, for ''Illinois''.
In April 2006, Stevens announced that 21 pieces of music he had culled from the ''Illinois'' recording sessions would be incorporated into a new album, called ''
The Avalanche'', which was released on July 11, 2006. On September 11, 2006, in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...
, Stevens debuted a new composition, a ten-minute-plus piece titled "Majesty Snowbird." On November 21, 2006, a five CD box set ''
Songs for Christmas'' was released, which contains originals and Christmas standards recorded every year since 2001 (except 2004). Stevens undertook in the project initially as an exercise to make himself 'appreciate' Christmas more. The songs were the work of an annual collaboration between Stevens and different collaborators, including minister Vito Aiuto; the songs themselves were distributed to friends and family.
Although Stevens' subsequent work was sometimes speculated to tie into future "States" projects,
and Stevens himself would make occasional statements alluding to the future of the project, Stevens later admitted that the project had been a "promotional gimmick" and not one he had seriously intended to complete.
In November 2009, Stevens admitted to ''
Exclaim!'' magazine, in regard to the fact that he recently called his fifty-state project a joke, that "I don't really have as much faith in my work as I used to, but I think that's healthy. I think it's allowed me to be less precious about how I work and write. And maybe it's okay for us to take it less seriously."
Soundtrack album and various collaborative projects (2007–2009)
Over the 2005 winter holidays, Stevens recorded an album with
Rosie Thomas and
Denison Witmer
Denison Witmer is an American singer-songwriter from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States. His first release, in 1995, was a cassette titled ''My Luck, My Love''. He has since released six studio LPs; two live albums, a cover album (''Recover ...
playing banjo and providing vocals. In April 2006, Pitchfork erroneously announced that Stevens and Thomas were having a baby together, and were forced to print a retraction. Witmer and Thomas later admitted it was an April Fools' prank. In December 2006, the collaborative recordings were digitally released by
Nettwerk
Nettwerk Music Group is the umbrella company for Nettwerk Records, Nettwerk Management, and Nettwerk One Publishing.
Established in 1984, the Vancouver-based company was created by Nettwerk principals Terry McBride and Mark Jowett as a record ...
as a Rosie Thomas album titled ''
These Friends of Mine''. The album was released in physical form on March 13, 2007.
On May 31, 2007, Asthmatic Kitty announced that Stevens would be premiering a new project titled ''
The BQE'' in early November 2007. The project, dubbed a "symphonic and cinematic exploration of New York City's infamous
Brooklyn–Queens Expressway," was manifested in a live show. ''The BQE'' featured an original film by Stevens (shot in
Super 8 film
Super 8 mm film is a motion-picture film format released in 1965 by Eastman Kodak as an improvement over the older "Double" or "Regular" 8 mm home movie format.
The film is nominally 8 mm wide, the same as older formatted ...
and standard 16 mm), while Stevens and a backing
orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families.
There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...
provided the live soundtrack. The performance used 36 performers which included a small band, a wind and brass ensemble, string players, horn players, and
hula hoop
A hula hoop is a toy hoop that is twirled around the waist, limbs or neck. It can also be wheeled along the ground like a wheel, with careful execution. They have been used by children and adults since at least 500 BC. The modern hula hoop ...
ers. There were no lyrics to the music. ''The BQE'' was commissioned by the
Brooklyn Academy of Music as part of their Next Wave Festival and performed on three consecutive nights from November 1–3, 2007.
The performance sold out the 2,109 seat BAM Opera House without any advertising. After three weeks of rehearsing the piece with the three dozen musicians involved, he presented the 30-minute composition. ''The BQE'' was followed by an additional one hour of concert by Stevens and his orchestra. ''The BQE'' won the 2008
Brendan Gill
Brendan Gill (October 4, 1914 – December 27, 1997) was an American journalist. He wrote for ''The New Yorker'' for more than 60 years. Gill also contributed film criticism for ''Film Comment'', wrote about design and architecture for Architectu ...
Prize. In April 2007, in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
and
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, Stevens made unannounced appearances on Thomas's tour in support of this album. In 2007, he did a Take-Away Show acoustic video session shot by
Vincent Moon
Vincent Moon (real name Mathieu Saura, born 25 August 1979) is an independent filmmaker, photographer, and sound artist from Paris. He was the main director of the Blogotheque's Take Away Shows, a web-based project recording field work music vid ...
standing on a roof in Cincinnati. In 2007, he played shows sporadically, including playing at the
Kennedy Center
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...
to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the
Millennium Stage
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...
concerts.
Stevens has also worked as an essayist, contributing to Asthmatic Kitty Records'
Sidebar feature and ''Topic Magazine''. He wrote the introduction to the 2007 edition of ''The Best American Nonrequired Reading'', a short story about his early childhood education and learning to read titled ''How I Trumped Rudolf Steiner and Overcame the Tribulations of Illiteracy, One Snickers Bar at a Time''. That winter, he hosted an "Xmas Song Exchange Contest" in which winner
Alec Duffy
Alec Duffy is an Obie Award winning writer and director, and the Artistic Director of Hoi Polloi and JACK, a performing arts space in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn.
Career
Duffy has written and directed several shows with his theater company, Hoi Polloi ...
won exclusive rights to the original Stevens song "Lonely Man of Winter." The track could only be heard by attending private listening parties at Duffy's home in Brooklyn and at places around the world until 2018, when Duffy negotiated with Asthmatic Kitty Records to release the song with all proceeds going towards Duffy's organization JACK.
Stevens has contributed to the music of Denison Witmer,
Soul-Junk
Soul-Junk is an experimental genre-hopping Christian rock and hip hop group from San Diego, California.
Background
The roots of Soul-Junk began in 1993 when Glen Galloway began experimenting while touring in Europe with his rock band Truman ...
,
Half-handed Cloud
Half-handed Cloud is an American recording project, based in Helsinki, Finland since 2015. It was started in 1999 as a one-man band by John Ringhofer, who created the band name based on an occurrence in the Old Testament. The majority of Half-hand ...
,
Brother Danielson, Danielson Famile,
Serena-Maneesh,
Castanets
Castanets, also known as ''clackers'' or ''palillos'', are a percussion instrument (idiophone), used in Spanish, Kalo, Moorish, Ottoman, Italian, Sephardic, Swiss, and Portuguese music. In ancient Greece and ancient Rome there was a simil ...
,
Will Stratton
Will Stratton (born April 10, 1987) is an American singer-songwriter and composer. He released his first album during the summer after graduating from high school and has gone on to release a total of seven albums.
Early life
Stratton was born ...
,
Shannon Stephens
Shannon Stephens is an American singer-songwriter from Seattle, Washington, United States.
She has released three solo albums, an EP entitled ''How I Got Away'' (1999), and also has exclusive tracks featured on both Asthmatic Kitty Records Sample ...
,
Clare & the Reasons, Little Scream, and
Liz Janes
Liz is a female name of Hebrew origin, meaning "God's Promise". It is also a short form of Elizabeth, Elisabeth, Lisbeth, Lizanne, Liszbeth, Lizbeth, Lizabeth, Lyzbeth, Lisa, Lizette, Alyssa, and Eliza.
People
* Liz Balmaseda (born 1959), Puli ...
. In 2007 alone, Stevens played piano on
The National's album ''
Boxer Boxer most commonly refers to:
* Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing
*Boxer (dog), a breed of dog
Boxer or boxers may also refer to:
Animal kingdom
* Boxer crab
* Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans
* Boxer snipe ee ...
'', produced and contributed many instrumental tracks to Rosie Thomas's album ''These Friends of Mine'', multiple instruments on
Ben + Vesper
Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right.
Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( he, ...
's album ''
All This Could Kill You
All or ALL may refer to:
Language
* All, an indefinite pronoun in English
* All, one of the English determiners
* Allar language (ISO 639-3 code)
* Allative case (abbreviated ALL)
Music
* All (band), an American punk rock band
* ''All'' (All al ...
'' and oboe and vocals to
David Garland's 2007 album ''
Noise in You
Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference arise ...
''.
He has contributed covers of
Tim Buckley
Timothy Charles Buckley III (February 14, 1947 – June 29, 1975) was an American musician. His music and style changed considerably through the years. Buckley began his career based in folk music, but his subsequent albums experimented with ...
("She Is"),
Joni Mitchell ("
Free Man in Paris
"Free Man in Paris" is a song written by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. It appeared on her 1974 album '' Court and Spark'', as well as her 1980 live album '' Shadows and Light''. It is ranked No. 470 on ''Rolling Stone''s list of the 5 ...
"),
Daniel Johnston
Daniel Dale Johnston (January 22, 1961 – September 11, 2019) was an American singer, musician and artist regarded as a significant figure in outsider, lo-fi, and alternative music scenes. Most of his work consisted of cassettes recorded a ...
("Worried Shoes"),
John Fahey ("Variation on 'Commemorative Transfiguration & Communion at Magruder Park"),
The Innocence Mission
The Innocence Mission is an American indie folk band formed in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1986. The band is composed of Karen Peris (née McCullough), her husband (and fellow guitarist) Don Peris, and Mike Bitts (on bass guitar). Although all me ...
("The Lakes of Canada"),
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
("Ring Them Bells"),
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals
* A male duck
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name
* Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* ...
("Hotline Bling"),
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...
("Kiss") and
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
("What Goes On") to various tribute albums. His versions of "Free Man in Paris" and "What Goes On" are notable for only retaining the lyrics of the original, as Stevens has taken his own interpretation on the melody and arrangement. His rendition of "
The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the b ...
" has a similar rearranged melody and arrangement as well as a whole new verse.
His songs "The Tallest Man, The Broadest Shoulders" and "All the Trees of the Field Will Clap Their Hands" were featured in the 2006 British comedy-drama ''
Driving Lessons
''Driving Lessons'' is a 2006 British comedy-drama film written and directed by Jeremy Brock. The plot focuses on the relationship between a shy teenaged boy and an ageing eccentric actress.
Plot
Seventeen-year-old Ben Marshall is the sensitive ...
'', starring ''
Harry Potter''s
Julie Walters
Dame Julia Mary Walters (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Julie Walters, is an English actress. She is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a B ...
and
Rupert Grint
Rupert Alexander Lloyd Grint (; born 24 August 1988) is an English actor. Grint rose to fame for his role as Ron Weasley in the ''Harry Potter'' film series, for which he was cast at age eleven, having previously acted only in school plays a ...
. In 2008, he produced ''
Welcome to The Welcome Wagon
''Welcome to The Welcome Wagon'' is a folk rock music album by The Welcome Wagon, released in 2008. It was produced by Sufjan Stevens, who also arranged the songs, contributed background vocals and played the banjo and occasionally the piano.
T ...
'', the debut album of Brooklyn-based husband and wife duo Vito and Monique Aiuto,
The Welcome Wagon
The Welcome Wagon is a Gospel/indie pop band from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York. The group consists of Presbyterian minister Thomas Vito Aiuto and his wife, Monique. Their debut album, ''Welcome to the Welcome Wagon'' (2008), was produced by Su ...
.
In February 2009, Stevens contributed "You Are the Blood" to the AIDS benefit album ''
Dark Was the Night Dark Was the Night may refer to:
* ''Dark Was the Night'' (album), a 2009 compilation album
* ''Dark Was the Night'' (2014 film), an American thriller film
* ''Dark Was the Night'' (2018 film), an American drama film
* "Dark Was the Night" (''Grey' ...
'' produced by the
Red Hot Organization. In April 2009, Stevens uploaded a song about director
Sofia Coppola
Sofia Carmina Coppola (; born May 14, 1971) is an American filmmaker and actress. The youngest child and only daughter of filmmakers Eleanor Coppola, Eleanor and Francis Ford Coppola, she made her film debut as an infant in her father's acclaimed ...
online. This song was written while Stevens was in college, from a series of songs about names.
Stevens recalled:
A few weeks later, our dog got hit by a snowplow and I forgot all about the problem of names. Until college, when I learned to play the guitar, and, as an exercise, started writing songs (very poorly executed) in the same way that Henry Ford produced the automobile: assembly-line-style. I wrote songs for the days of the week (poor Monday!). Songs for the planets (poor Pluto!). Songs for the Apostles (poor Judas!). And, finally, when all else failed, I started a series of songs for names. ..Each piece was a rhetorical, philosophical, musical rumination on all the possible names I had entertained years before when my parents had given me the one chance to change my own. Oh fates! I sang these songs in the privacy of my dorm room, behind closed doors, pillows and cushions stuffed in the air vents so no one would hear. And then I almost failed Latin class, my grades plummeted, my social life dissolved into ping pong tournaments in the residence halls, and, gradually, my interest in music (or anything divine, creative, fruitful, enriching) completely waned. I turned to beer. And cigarettes. And TV sitcoms. And candy bars. Oh well! A perfectly good youth wasted on junk food! That is, until a few months ago, when I came across some of the old name songs, stuffed onto tape cassettes, 4-track recorders, forgotten boxes, forgotten shelves, forgotten hard drives. It was like finding an old diary, or a high school yearbook, senior picture with lens flare and pockmarks, slightly cute and embarrassing. What was I thinking?
Solo studio albums (2009–2011)
![Sufjan Stevens, Leipzig, May 2011](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Sufjan_Stevens%2C_Leipzig%2C_May_2011.jpg)
In September 2009, Stevens began performing four new songs while on his fall tour, "All Delighted People", "Impossible Soul", "Too Much" and "Age of Adz". That year Stevens contributed to an album with his stepfather, Lowell Brams, entitled ''Music for Insomnia''. The album was released December 8, 2009. On October 6, 2009, Stevens' label, Asthmatic Kitty Records, released an album of versions of his 2001 album ''Enjoy Your Rabbit'' rearranged for strings and performed by the Osso String Quartet, entitled ''
Run Rabbit Run
"Run, Rabbit, Run" is a song written by Noel Gay and Ralph Butler. The music was by Noel Gay and the song was originally sung by Flanagan and Allen accompanied by the Harry Bidgood orchestra.
Background
This song was written for Noel Gay's show ' ...
''.
In 2010, Stevens was featured on The National's album ''
High Violet
''High Violet'' is the fifth studio album by The National, which was released on May 10, 2010 in Europe and on May 11, 2010 in North America via 4AD. The band produced the album themselves, assisted by Peter Katis with whom they worked on their ...
'', released in May, and sang backing vocals for the band on the ''
Late Show with David Letterman''. Following the release of ''High Violet'', band frontman
Matt Berninger
Matthew Donald Berninger (, born February 13, 1971) is an American singer-songwriter, primarily known as the frontman and lyricist of indie rock band The National. In 2014, he also formed the EL VY project with Brent Knopf of Ramona Falls and ...
mentioned that Stevens was recording a new album in the band's studio and that The National would appear on some of the tracks. In early August, Stevens announced North American tour dates across dozens of cities. On August 20, 2010, Stevens suddenly and unexpectedly released a new collection of tracks, the ''
All Delighted People'' EP, for digital download. The EP is built around two versions of the title track, "All Delighted People". The EP surprisingly rose to #27 on the
''Billboard'' 200 albums solely through its digital sales. On August 26, Asthmatic Kitty announced that Stevens would release his newest full-length album, ''
The Age of Adz'', on October 12.
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
streamed the album until it was released on October 12, 2010.
The two albums featured a wide range of arrangements, from orchestral to electronic. Song lengths were also extended; the track "Djohariah" from ''All Delighted People'' is 17 minutes long, while "Impossible Soul" from ''The Age of Adz'' is 25 minutes long. The albums also feature many styles from
disco to
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fo ...
.
Stevens has stated in interviews that in 2009 and 2010 he suffered from a mysterious debilitating virus infection that affected his nervous system. He experienced chronic pain and was forced to stop working on music for several months.
He said: "''The Age of Adz'', is, in some ways, a result of that process of working through health issues and getting much more in touch with my physical self. That's why I think the record's really obsessed with sensation and has a hysterical melodrama to it."
On October 12, 2010, Stevens began his North American tour in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
, featuring virtually all new material. The tour lasted just over a month and ended on November 15, 2010, in New York City. Stevens toured Australia and New Zealand in early 2011, featured as part of the
Sydney Festival, and appeared on-stage with The National during the last of three sold-out Auckland shows. He also toured Europe and the United Kingdom in April and May 2011, playing there for the first time in five years. His shows mostly consisted of new material, but he did play many older tracks from ''Seven Swans'' and ''Illinois''. Stevens ended the Age of Adz tour with two shows in
Prospect Park, Brooklyn
Prospect Park is an urban park in Brooklyn, New York City. The park is situated between the neighborhoods of Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Flatbush, and Windsor Terrace, and is adjacent to the Brooklyn Museum, Gra ...
, New York.
Further collaborative projects (2012–2014)
![Sufjanchristmas](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Sufjanchristmas.png)
On February 27, 2012, it was announced Stevens would release a collaborative EP titled ''
Beak & Claw
''Beak & Claw'' is the debut EP by Sisyphus (released under the name S / S / S), a collaborative project between Serengeti, Sufjan Stevens, and Son Lux. It was released through Anticon on March 20, 2012. If featured guest appearances from Shara Wo ...
'', on March 20, with artists
Son Lux
Son Lux is an American experimental band. Originally the solo project and moniker of founding member Ryan Lott, the band's first three albums, '' At War with Walls & Mazes'', '' We Are Rising'' and ''Lanterns'', shaped the band's unique sound ...
and
Serengeti
The Serengeti ( ) ecosystem is a Geography of Africa, geographical region in Africa, spanning northern Tanzania. The protected area within the region includes approximately of land, including the Serengeti National Park and several game res ...
under the name
S / S / S on the
Anticon
Anticon (often styled as anticon.) is an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1998 by seven musicians and manager Baillie Parker. It is now collectively owned among six musicians, co-founder Parker, and ma ...
record label. Stevens released a 7" with close friend Rosie Thomas for
Record Store Day
Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...
2012, titled ''Hit & Run Vol. 1''. He also collaborated with choreographer
Justin Peck
Justin Peck (born September 8, 1987) is an American choreographer, director, and dancer associated with New York City Ballet, of which he was appointed Resident Choreographer in July 2014, being the second person in the history of the instituti ...
on two ballets for the New York City Ballet: ''
Year of the Rabbit
The rabbit ( 兔) is the fourth in the twelve-year cycle of animals that appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Rabbit is associated with the Earthly Branch symbol 卯.
In the Vietnamese zodiac and t ...
'' (2012) and ''
Everywhere We Go
''Everywhere We Go'' is the fifth studio album by American country music singer Kenny Chesney. It was released on March 2, 1999 via BNA Records. The first in his career to be certified double platinum for sales of two million copies, it produced ...
'' (2014), both to great critical acclaim. Stevens, along with fellow Brooklyn musicians
Nico Muhly
Nico Asher Muhly (; born August 26, 1981) is an American contemporary classical music composer and arranger who has worked and recorded with both classical and pop musicians. A prolific composer, he has composed for many notable symphony orchestras ...
and
Bryce Dessner
Bryce David Dessner (born April 23, 1976) is an American composer and guitarist based in Paris, as well as a member of the rock band the National. Dessner's twin brother Aaron is also a member of the group. Together they write the music, in coll ...
, began performing their classical project ''
Planetarium'', a song-cycle based around the planets in our solar system in countries such as England, The Netherlands, Australia and France from March to July 2012.
On October 2, 2012, it was announced that Stevens would release a second set of Christmas albums, titled ''
Silver & Gold: Songs for Christmas, Vols. 6–10'', on November 13, 2012. ''Silver & Gold'' contains 58 songs, allowing for a total of 100 when combined with his first set of Christmas albums, ''Songs for Christmas''. To support this new release, Stevens performed in 24 cities around the United States for his 2012 tour titled "The Sirfjam Stephanapolous Christmas Sing-a-Long Seasonal Affective Disorder Spectacular Music Pageant Variety Show Disaster". On December 11, 2012, Stevens released ''Chopped and Scrooged'', a Christmas-themed hip-hop mixtape featuring music from ''Silver & Gold''.
As a part of
Joyful Noise's 2013 Flexi Disc Series, Stevens and Cat Martino, of
Stranger Cat, recorded the single "Take the Time". Martino has contributed to many of Stevens' past projects, including ''The Age of Adz''. On March 18, 2014, Stevens released the self-titled album, ''
Sisyphus
In Greek mythology, Sisyphus or Sisyphos (; Ancient Greek: Σίσυφος ''Sísyphos'') was the founder and king of Ephyra (now known as Corinth). Hades punished him for cheating death twice by forcing him to roll an immense boulder up a hill ...
'', with Son Lux and rapper Serengeti.
''Carrie & Lowell'' (2015–2017)
On January 12, 2015, Asthmatic Kitty Records announced that Stevens would release a new album called ''
Carrie & Lowell
''Carrie & Lowell'' is the seventh studio album by American musician Sufjan Stevens. It was released on March 31, 2015, by Asthmatic Kitty. It is executively produced by Stevens, and features guest contributions from Thomas Bartlett, Sean Care ...
''.
Stevens shared the first single from the album, "
No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross
"No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross" is a song by United States, American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sufjan Stevens. It is the tenth track and lead Single (music), single from his seventh studio album, ''Carrie & Lowell'', and w ...
", on February 16, 2015. ''Carrie & Lowell'' was released on March 31, 2015.
The album garnered critical acclaim upon its release. ''
Stereogum'' placed the album on its best albums of the decade list in 16th place and described it as "an elegant heartbreaker of an album", while ''
Consequence of Sound
''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...
'' ranked it the 43rd best album of the decade, calling it "a special brew that makes even the most intimate personal moment feel parabolic".
The album follows the nuances and trials of life with Stevens' mother, Carrie, who was diagnosed bipolar and schizophrenic, was addicted to drugs, and abandoned him when he was a year old; it also includes Stevens' stepfather, Lowell Brams.
Stevens also stated that the songwriting for the album was incited by his process of grieving and coming to terms with his and his mother's relationship following his mother's death due to stomach cancer in 2012.
On January 26, 2015, Asthmatic Kitty Records announced a tour of North America, which began in April 2015, to coincide with the new album. Stevens also headlined the
End of the Road Festival in the United Kingdom in September. On July 21, a second set of U.S. tour dates, which took place in October and November 2015, was announced.
After Stevens performed new compositions about the solar system alongside composers Nico Muhly and Bryce Dessner in Amsterdam in April 2012,
it was reported in March 2017 that the three and James McAlister would produce an album. The "80-minute concept album", titled ''Planetarium'', was released in July 2017. On April 28, 2017, a live album and concert film, ''
Carrie & Lowell Live'' was released, featuring new interpretations, re-workings and expansions of the songs from ''Carrie & Lowell''. In addition to the live album, Stevens announced another ''Carrie & Lowell'' companion piece, ''
The Greatest Gift
"The Greatest Gift" is a 1943 short story written by Philip Van Doren Stern, loosely based on the Charles Dickens 1843 novella '' A Christmas Carol'', which became the basis for the film ''It's a Wonderful Life'' (1946). It was self-published a ...
'', released on November 24. It includes four unreleased songs from the album sessions, as well as several remixes and a demo.
''Call Me by Your Name'' and ''The Ascension'' (2017–2020)
In January 2017, it was announced that Stevens would contribute original songs written and recorded by himself for the coming-of-age romantic drama film ''
Call Me by Your Name Call Me by Your Name may refer to:
* ''Call Me by Your Name'' (novel), a 2007 novel by André Aciman
* ''Call Me by Your Name'' (film), a 2017 film based on the novel, directed by Luca Guadagnino
** '' Call Me by Your Name: Original Motion Pictur ...
''. The film was released on November 24, 2017, by
Sony Pictures Classics
Sony Pictures Classics Inc. is an American film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures. It was founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloom. It distributes, produce ...
.
The soundtrack of the film features two new songs and a remix of an existing song by Stevens: "Visions of Gideon", which has been described as containing "lush orchestrations" and "staccato-heavy piano refrains", "
Mystery of Love", which was featured in the film's trailer as well as the film itself, and an "ethereal piano arrangement" of ''The Age of Adz'' track "Futile Devices". In his review of the film, ''Consequence of Sound'' writer Dominick Suzanne-Mayer praised Stevens' work as a composer on the film, noting that he "has a perfect ear for the film's portrayal of a summer that's getting shorter by the day." In January 2018, "Mystery of Love" earned a nomination for the year's Academy Award for
Best Original Song
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
. Later in the year, the song received a Grammy Award nomination for
Best Song Written for Visual Media
The Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media (including its previous names) is the Grammy Awards awarded to songs written for films, television, video games or other visual media.
Recipients
* Each year is linked t ...
. The song was featured in the second season of the Netflix series
''Sex Education''.
In December 2017, Stevens released two versions of "Tonya Harding", a song about the figure skater
of the same name. The song's video shows a clip of the eponymous skater performing at the
1991 US Figure Skating Championships. Two days later, the single was offered for digital download and streaming, to be followed later by a cassette and vinyl release, in two versions, the one featured in the video (subtitled "in D major") and a piano-only arrangement ("in E♭ major"); in a short essay, Stevens revealed his intention to write a song about Harding since 1991. According to Stevens, "I've been trying to write a Tonya Harding song since I first saw her skate at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 1991. She's a complicated subject for a song partly because the hard facts of her life are so strange, disputable, heroic, unprecedented, and indelibly American." Stevens later revealed that the song was offered to the producers to the biographical film ''
I, Tonya
''I, Tonya'' is a 2017 American biographical film directed by Craig Gillespie and written by Steven Rogers. It follows the life and career of the American figure skater Tonya Harding and her connection with the 1994 attack on her rival Nancy ...
'', which was released in the same period, but that they decided not to include it in the film.
In October 2018, Stevens performed and recorded with
indie folk musician
Angelo De Augustine a collaborative duo of the latter's "Time" single.
On May 29, 2019, Stevens released two new songs, respectively entitled "Love Yourself" and "With My Whole Heart", which were released in celebration of
Pride Month
LGBT Pride Month is a month, typically in June, dedicated to celebration and commemoration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) pride. Pride Month began after the Stonewall riots, a series of gay liberation protests in 1969, and ha ...
. Sam Sodomsky of ''Pitchfork'' called "With My Whole Heart" "five minutes of unabashed and (relatively) unadorned inspirational soft rock" and "Love Yourself" "similarly glowing".
Pride
Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) w ...
-themed T-shirts designed by Stevens also debuted alongside the singles. He later stated that a portion of the song and shirts' proceeds would go to the
Ali Forney Center in Brooklyn and the
Ruth Ellis Center
The Ruth Ellis Center is a Detroit area social services agency that serves the needs of runaway, homeless and at-risk lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth. Among their services are a drop-in center, Street Outreach Program, fo ...
in Detroit, two organizations which aim to help
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term ...
youth. In October 2019, Stevens released an album entitled ''
The Decalogue
The Ten Commandments ( Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...
'' with pianist
Timo Andres
Timo is a masculine given name. It is primarily used in Finnish, Estonian, Dutch and German societies. It may be used as an abbreviation of Timothy.
Arts and entertainment
*Timo Alakotila (born 1959), Finnish musician
* Timo Andres (born 1985), ...
. It is based on a ballet of the same name by Justin Peck, composed by Stevens.
On March 24, 2020, Stevens released a collaborative album with his stepfather, Lowell Brams, titled ''
Aporia
In philosophy, an aporia ( grc, ᾰ̓πορῐ́ᾱ, aporíā, literally: "lacking passage", also: "impasse", "difficulty in passage", "puzzlement") is a conundrum or state of puzzlement. In rhetoric, it is a declaration of doubt, made for ...
''. In June, Stevens announced his eighth studio album, titled ''
The Ascension'', along with the album's lead single "
America", which was released on July 3. The album's second single, "Video Game", was released on August 13, and the third single, "Sugar", was released on September 15. ''The Ascension'' was released in full on September 25.
Recent works (2021–present)
On May 6, 2021, Stevens released a five-volume album of meditation music, called ''
Convocations''. On July 7, 2021, Stevens announced the release of a collaborative album, called ''
A Beginner's Mind
''A Beginner's Mind'' is a collaborative album by American musicians Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine. The album was released by Asthmatic Kitty on September 24, 2021. After being teased by Asthmatic Kitty for several days, the album was form ...
'', that he recorded with fellow folk singer-songwriter Angelo De Augustine. On the same day, they unveiled the cover and the first two singles, "Reach Out" and "Olympus". ''A Beginner's Mind'' is a concept album, each track being inspired by a different film from either the 20th or 21st century.
Artistry
Musical style
![Sufjan Stevens @ Metro, Chicago, 12-15-2012 (8295385683)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Sufjan_Stevens_%40_Metro%2C_Chicago%2C_12-15-2012_%288295385683%29.jpg)
Stevens' sound has been most generally associated with genres such as
indie folk,
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...
,
indie rock
Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...
,
indie pop
Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and su ...
,
baroque pop,
chamber pop
Chamber pop (or Chamber rock; also called baroque pop and sometimes conflated with orchestral pop or symphonic pop) is a music genre that combines rock music with the intricate use of strings, horns, piano, and vocal harmonies, and other compo ...
,
folk pop
Folk-pop is a musical style that may be 1) contemporary folk songs with large, sweeping pop arrangements, or 2) pop songs with intimate, acoustic-based folk arrangements. Recording production values created a unblemished style that appealed to ...
,
avant-garde
The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
folk,
lo-fi
Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate choice. The ...
folk, and electronica. A multi-instrumentalist, Stevens is known for his frequent use of the
banjo, but also plays guitar, piano, drums, woodwinds, and several other instruments on his records, layered through the use of
multitrack recording.
Themes
Stevens' work is known to explore themes of love, religion, outer space, and grief.
Despite many of his songs having spiritual allusions, Stevens does not identify as a
contemporary Christian music artist or frequently discuss religion with the press. He told ''The Village Voice'': "I don't think music media is the real forum for theological discussions. I think I've said things and sung about things that probably weren't appropriate for this kind of form. And I just feel like it's not my work or my place to be making claims and statements because I often think it's misunderstood."
During a 2004 interview with Adrian Pannett for ''Comes with a Smile'' magazine, when asked how important faith was to his music, he said "I don't like talking about that stuff in the public forum because, I think, certain themes and convictions are meant for personal conversation."
In a 2006 interview, he said "It's not so much that faith influences us as it lives in us. In every circumstance (giving a speech or tying my shoes), I am living and moving and being."
Personal life
Stevens has resided in
Upstate New York
Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...
near the
Catskill Mountains since 2019. Before this, he lived in New York City for 20 years.
He identifies as a Christian.
Stevens also stated in 2005 that he attended an
Anglo-Catholic
Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches.
The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglica ...
Episcopal church.
Awards and nominations
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The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
, 2018
, rowspan="5", "
Mystery of Love"
,
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This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
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Dorian Awards
The Dorian Awards are film and television accolades given by GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, founded in 2009 as the Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association. GALECA is an association of professional journalists and ...
, 2019
, 2018 Oscar's Performance
, TV Musical Performance of the Year
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The Georgia Film Critics Association (GAFCA) is an organization of professional film critics from the U.S. state of Georgia. Inclusion is open to film critics throughout the entire state of Georgia, although the majority of members are concentrate ...
, 2018
, rowspan="2", "
Mystery of Love"
, Best Original Song
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, rowspan="2", 2018
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,
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Mystery of Love"
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, 2019
,
Best Song Written for Visual Media
The Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media (including its previous names) is the Grammy Awards awarded to songs written for films, television, video games or other visual media.
Recipients
* Each year is linked t ...
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, 2018
, "
Call Me By Your Name Call Me by Your Name may refer to:
* ''Call Me by Your Name'' (novel), a 2007 novel by André Aciman
* ''Call Me by Your Name'' (film), a 2017 film based on the novel, directed by Luca Guadagnino
** '' Call Me by Your Name: Original Motion Pictur ...
"
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Mystery of Love"
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, "Vision of Gideon"
,
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Mystery of Love"
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PLUG Independent Music Awards The PLUG Independent Music Awards, or just PLUG Awards, began in 2001 as a "cartel" of music lovers ranging from DJs and managers to indie retailers and fans.
Winners
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Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
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, -
, Album/Art Packaging of the Year
,
, -
, Indie Rock Album of the Year
,
, -
, rowspan="2", Himself
, Artist of the Year
,
, -
, Male Artist of the Year
,
, -
, "Chicago"
, Song of the Year
,
, -
, 2007
, Himself
, Male Artist of the Year
,
, -
! scope="row",
Shortlist Music Prize
The Shortlist Music Prize, stylized as (shôrt–lĭst), was an annual music award for the best album released in the United States that had sold fewer than 500,000 copies at the time of nomination. First given as a cash prize in 2001 under ...
, 2005
, "
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
"
,
,
,
, -
Discography
Studio albums
*''
A Sun Came'' (1999)
*''
Enjoy Your Rabbit'' (2001)
*''
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
'' (2003)
*''
Seven Swans
''Seven Swans'' is a folk rock music album by Sufjan Stevens, released on March 16, 2004 on Sounds Familyre Records. It is Stevens' fourth studio album and features songs about Christian spiritual themes, figures such as Abraham, and Christ's Tran ...
'' (2004)
*''
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
'' (2005)
*''
The Avalanche'' (2006)
*''
The Age of Adz'' (2010)
*''
Carrie & Lowell
''Carrie & Lowell'' is the seventh studio album by American musician Sufjan Stevens. It was released on March 31, 2015, by Asthmatic Kitty. It is executively produced by Stevens, and features guest contributions from Thomas Bartlett, Sean Care ...
'' (2015)
*''
The Ascension'' (2020)
*''
Convocations'' (2021)
(five-volume collection)
Collaborative albums
*''
Planetarium'' (2017), with
Bryce Dessner
Bryce David Dessner (born April 23, 1976) is an American composer and guitarist based in Paris, as well as a member of the rock band the National. Dessner's twin brother Aaron is also a member of the group. Together they write the music, in coll ...
,
Nico Muhly
Nico Asher Muhly (; born August 26, 1981) is an American contemporary classical music composer and arranger who has worked and recorded with both classical and pop musicians. A prolific composer, he has composed for many notable symphony orchestras ...
, and James McAlister
*''
The Decalogue
The Ten Commandments ( Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...
'' (2019), with
Timo Andres
Timo is a masculine given name. It is primarily used in Finnish, Estonian, Dutch and German societies. It may be used as an abbreviation of Timothy.
Arts and entertainment
*Timo Alakotila (born 1959), Finnish musician
* Timo Andres (born 1985), ...
*''
Aporia
In philosophy, an aporia ( grc, ᾰ̓πορῐ́ᾱ, aporíā, literally: "lacking passage", also: "impasse", "difficulty in passage", "puzzlement") is a conundrum or state of puzzlement. In rhetoric, it is a declaration of doubt, made for ...
'' (2020), with Lowell Brams
*''
A Beginner's Mind
''A Beginner's Mind'' is a collaborative album by American musicians Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine. The album was released by Asthmatic Kitty on September 24, 2021. After being teased by Asthmatic Kitty for several days, the album was form ...
'' (2021), with
Angelo De Augustine
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Sufjan
1975 births
21st-century American singers
21st-century multi-instrumentalists
American banjoists
American electronic musicians
American experimental musicians
American folk guitarists
American folk rock musicians
American folk singers
American people of Greek descent
American indie pop musicians
American indie rock musicians
American male guitarists
American male singer-songwriters
American multi-instrumentalists
American oboists
American people of Lithuanian descent
American rock guitarists
American rock singers
American rock songwriters
Asthmatic Kitty artists
Baroque pop musicians
Christians from Michigan
Cor anglais players
Folk musicians from Michigan
Guitarists from Michigan
Record producers from Michigan
Hope College alumni
Indie folk musicians
Living people
Male oboists
Musicians from Detroit
People from Holland, Michigan
People from Kensington, Brooklyn
Rock oboists
Rough Trade Records artists
Singer-songwriters from Michigan
Sisyphus (hip hop group) members
Waldorf school alumni
Winners of the Shortlist Music Prize
People from Petoskey, Michigan