The Hidden Cameras are a Canadian

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

band. Fronted by singer-songwriter

Joel Gibb Joel W. Gibb (born 28 January 1977) is a Berlin-based Canadian artist and singer-songwriter who leads the "gay church folk" group The Hidden Cameras. He was born in Kincardine, Ontario. Career His first involvement with the music scene was a ...

, the band consists of a varying roster of musicians who play what Gibb once described as "

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

". Their live performances have been elaborate, high-energy shows, featuring

go-go dancers Go-go dancers are dancers who are employed to entertain crowds at nightclubs or other venues where music is played. Go-go dancing originated in the early 1960s at the French bar Whisky a Gogo, located in the town of Juan-les-Pins. The bar's n ...

in balaclavas, a choir, and a string section.

History

2001–2002: ''Ecce Homo''

The band's first album, ''Ecce Homo'', was released independently in 2001 on EvilEvil. It was after this first release that Gibb assembled a band and they began to perform in venues varying from art galleries to churches to porn theatres to parks. Since these early days the Hidden Cameras have played host to a number of notable musicians, including Reg Vermue,

Owen Pallett Michael James Owen Pallett-Plowright (born September 7, 1979), known professionally as Owen Pallett, is a Canadian composer, violinist, keyboardist, and vocalist. Under their former pseudonym Final Fantasy, Pallett won the 2006 Polaris Music P ...

, Laura Barrett,

Don Kerr Don Kerr is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He is the drummer, lead singer and front man of Toronto band, Communism. He plays in Ron Sexsmith's band,the Phonemes), Mike Olsen (of the

Arcade Fire Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury, and Jeremy Gara. The band's touring line-up includes former core ...

) and

Maggie MacDonald Maggie MacDonald (born 1978) is a writer, playwright, and musician who lives in Toronto, Ontario. Early life and education MacDonald grew up in Cornwall, Ontario, where she became active in the local independent rock music scene. She put on sh ...

2003: ''The Smell of Our Own''

Their 2003 album '' The Smell of Our Own'' was released through Rough Trade in the UK and on the

independent label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represente ...

EvilEvil in Canada.

2004–2005: ''Mississauga Goddam'' and ''The Arms of His 'Ill''

In 2004, they released '' Mississauga Goddam'' on Rough Trade and on EvilEvil in Canada. Their EP ''The Arms of His 'Ill'' was released by

Absolutely Kosher Records Absolutely Kosher Records is an independent California-based record label founded in 1998 in San Francisco by Cory Brown. The label moved to Berkeley in 2002 and then to Emeryville in October 2006 when it partnered with Misra Records for 3 years ...

in the same year, and it features jacket art created by Paul P. and G.B. Jones. In November 2005, the band collaborated with

Toronto Dance Theatre The Toronto Dance Theatre is a Canadian modern dance company based in Toronto, Ontario. Described by ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' as "one of the foremost modern-dance companies in Canada", the company tours nationally and internationally and regu ...

on the show ''In the Boneyard'' at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto. Dancers joined the band throughout the show and played instruments, and the band performed on-stage in costume. Three of the songs from ''Mississauga Goddam'' ("We Oh We", "I Believe in the Good of Life" (a rerecorded version of the same song from the first album), and "Builds the Bone") are featured in the Canadian movie '' Whole New Thing''. "We Oh We" is featured on the soundtrack of the German film '' Sommersturm (Summer Storm)''.

2006: ''Awoo''

'' Awoo'', their 2006 recording, was released on Rough Trade in Europe, EvilEvil in Canada, and in the U.S. on

Arts & Crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and America. Initiat ...

. The Hidden Cameras' song "Boys of Melody" is featured on the soundtrack of the

John Cameron Mitchell John Cameron Mitchell (born April 21, 1963) is an American actor, playwright, screenwriter, singer, songwriter, producer and director. He is known as the writer, director and star of the 2001 film ''Hedwig and the Angry Inch (film), Hedwig and t ...

film ''

Shortbus ''Shortbus'' is a 2006 American erotic comedy-drama film written and directed by John Cameron Mitchell. The plot revolves around a sexually diverse ensemble of colorful characters trying desperately to connect in an early 2000s New York City. ...

''. The Hidden Cameras song "Lollipop" is the theme song for the G.B. Jones film '' The Lollipop Generation'' from 2008, on which Joel Gibb also appears.

2009: ''Origin:Orphan''

'' Origin:Orphan'', their fifth album, was mastered in May 2009. The music video for "In the NA", a song from this album, was screened at the 19th Annual

Inside Out Film and Video Festival The Inside Out Film and Video Festival (formerly, Inside Out Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival), also known as the Inside Out LGBT or LGBTQ Film Festival, is an annual Canadian film festival, which presents a program of LGBT-related film. Th ...

. The album was released on 22 September 2009. Five songs from '' Origin:Orphan'' were redone by electronic pop band from Barcelona

Hidrogenesse Hidrogenesse is a Catalan pop band whose members are Carlos Ballesteros (singer) and Genís Segarra (synthesizers, also of the band Astrud). Influences Hidrogenesse is an electronic duo formed by Carlos Ballesteros and Genís Segarra in Ba ...

and released under the name of Hidrogenesse versus the Hidden Cameras in May 2010. Also a video for "He Falls to Me" was done by Darío Peña. In 2011, they recorded a cover of Mecca Normal's "Throw Silver" for the compilation album '' Have Not Been the Same - Vol. 1: Too Cool to Live, Too Smart to Die''.

2013: Arts & Crafts compilations and ''Age''

In 2013, the band appeared on two compilation albums from the label

. The song "Mind, Matter and Waste", originally a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

from their 2009 "In the NA" single, appeared on ''Arts & Crafts: 2003-2013'' and garnered airplay on CBC Radio 3, and the band collaborated with Snowblink on a cover of

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...

's "The Chauffeur" for '' Arts & Crafts: X''.
''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'', July 4, 2013. The album ''

Age Age or AGE may refer to: Time and its effects * Age, the amount of time someone has been alive or something has existed ** East Asian age reckoning, an Asian system of marking age starting at 1 * Ageing or aging, the process of becoming older ...

'' was released in January 2014. The lead single "Gay Goth Scene" was released in July 2013. The video for the single was directed by Kai Stänicke, who received the Short Film Award for Human Rights at San Marino International Film Festival awards, Tadgell’s Bluebell Honor Award, Best Short Film About/For Youth at the 16th Auburn International Film Festival for Children and Young Adults in Sydney, Australia, and best German short at the International Queer Film Festival Hamburg, Germany.

2016: ''Home on Native Land''

Home on Native Land ''Home on Native Land'' is the seventh studio album by The Hidden Cameras. The album is an inquisitive ode to lead singer Joel Gibb's homeland as well as marking a figurative and literal return. The record was recorded over 10 years with guest ...

'' released on Outside Music was written and recorded over 10 years by Gibb with friends and bandmates, including

Rufus Wainwright Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded eleven studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical opera ...

, Feist,

Neil Tennant Neil Francis Tennant (born 10 July 1954) is an English singer, songwriter and music journalist, and co-founder of the synth-pop duo the Pet Shop Boys, which he formed with Chris Lowe in 1981. He was a journalist for '' Smash Hits'', and assist ...

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

Ron Sexsmith Ronald Eldon Sexsmith (born January 8, 1964) is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario. He was the songwriter of the year at the 2005 Juno Awards. He began releasing recordings of his own material in 1985 at age 21, and has ...

and Mary Margaret O’Hara.

Discography

The band's material has been released on a variety of labels, including Rough Trade in the United Kingdom, Arts & Crafts in the U.S., and

Outside Music Outside Music is a Canadian record label and distributor founded by Lloyd Nishimura in 2001. In 2007, it expanded to include an artist management division which includes Jill Barber, Matthew Barber, Aidan Knight, Justin Rutledge as manageme ...

in Canada.

Albums

*''

Ecce Homo ''Ecce homo'' (, , ; "behold the man") are the Latin words used by Pontius Pilate in the Vulgate translation of the Gospel of John, when he presents a scourged Jesus, bound and crowned with thorns, to a hostile crowd shortly before his crucif ...

'' (2001) *'' The Smell of Our Own'' (2003) *'' Mississauga Goddam'' (2004) *'' Awoo'' (2006) *'' Origin:Orphan'' (2009) *''

'' (2014) *''

'' (2016)

EPs

*'' The Hidden Cameras Play the CBC Sessions'' (2003) *'' The Arms of His 'Ill''' (2004) *'' How Do You Love?'' (2025)

Singles

* "Ban Marriage" (2003) * "A Miracle" (2003) #70 UK * "I Believe in the Good of Life" (2004) * "Learning the Lie" (double single release)(2005) * "Death of a Tune" (2006) * "Awoo" (2006) * "In the NA" (2009) * "Underage" (2010) * "Do I Belong?" (2011) * "Mind, Matter and Waste" (2013) * "Gay Goth Scene" (2013) * "Carpe Jugular" (2014) * "Doom" (2014) * "The Day I Left Home" (2016) * "How Do You Love?" (Pet Shop Boys Remix)(2025)

Soundtracks

* ''Rebels Rule'', directed by Will Munro, 2002 * '' Sommersturm'', directed by

Marco Kreuzpaintner Marco Johann Kreuzpaintner (born 11 March 1977) is a German film director, screenwriter, showrunner and executive producer. He is known for his gay coming-of-age feature film ''Summer Storm (2004 film), Summer Storm'', the critical acclaimed Netfl ...

, 2004 * ''

'', directed by

, 2006 * '' Whole New Thing'', directed by Amnon Buchbinder and co-written by

Daniel MacIvor Daniel MacIvor (born July 23, 1962) is a Canadian actor, playwright, theatre director, and film director. He is probably best known for his acting roles in independent films and the sitcom '' Twitch City''. Personal MacIvor was born in Sydney, ...

, 2006 * '' Small Town Gay Bar'', directed by Malcolm Ingram, 2006 * '' The Lollipop Generation'', directed by G.B. Jones, 2008

References

External links

Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hidden Cameras, The Musical groups established in 2001 Musical groups from Toronto Canadian indie pop groups Arts & Crafts Productions artists Queercore groups Rough Trade Records artists 2001 establishments in Ontario