Joseph Arthur
Encyclopedia
Joseph Arthur is an American singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

 and artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...

 from Akron
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...

, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

. Combining poetic lyrics with a layered sonic palette, Arthur has built his reputation over the years through critically acclaimed releases and constant touring; his unique solo live performances incorporate the use of a number of distortion and loop pedals, and his shows are recorded live at the soundboard and made available to concertgoers immediately following the show on recordable media. Arthur was discovered by Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...

 in the mid-'90s, and signed to Gabriel's Real World
Real World Records
Real World Records is a record label started in 1989 by Peter Gabriel to record and produce world music.-Overview:The label grew up alongside the success of the WOMAD festivals and Peter Gabriel's exploration of music from other cultures, and helped push world music into the general public's...

 label as the first North American artist on the label's roster. Arthur released his debut album Big City Secrets
Big City Secrets
-Album credits:# "Big City Secret"#* Joseph Arthur: guitar and vocals#* Roger Beaujolais: vibes#* Martyn Barker: treated tubular kit#* Simon Edwards: bass#* Markus Dravs: keyboards, desert storm & gravel percussion# "Mercedes"...

(1997) and follow-up Come to Where I'm From
Come To Where I'm From
Come to Where I'm From is the second official studio album by Joseph Arthur released by Real World Records on April 11, 2000. The album was co-produced by T-Bone Burnett, and features the singles "Chemical" and "In the Sun."-Track listing:-Singles:...

(2000) on Real World before signing with various independent labels between 2002 and 2006. He established his own record label, Lonely Astronaut Records
Lonely Astronaut Records
Lonely Astronaut is a record label founded by musician Joseph Arthur, his long-time professional partner Lauren Pattenaude, and Eric Gerber. The label was created in 2006...

, in 2006.

Arthur is also an acclaimed painter and designer. His artwork has graced the sleeves of his entire discography; the sleeve design for his 1999 extended play
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

 Vacancy
Vacancy (EP)
Vacancy is an EP by Joseph Arthur released on May 11, 1999. Released by the independent label Undercover out of Portland, Oregon, Vacancy is a hand packaged, limited edition that was assembled one at a time by two people at Undercover. Each one was pressed and die-cut, then assembled and folded by...

was nominated for a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

 for Best Recording Package.

Early life and Big City Secrets

Joseph began writing and playing music in his early teens, after inheriting an electronic keyboard from his aunt. At age 16, he played bass in a blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...

 band called Frankie Starr and the Chill Factor, which disbanded by 1995. Joseph graduated from Firestone High School
Firestone High School
Harvey S. Firestone High School is a public high school located on the northwest side of Akron, Ohio. It is one of seven high schools in the Akron Public Schools district. The high school currently offers programs such as the Visual and Performing Arts, International Baccalaureate Program, and...

 in 1990 and continued developing his music. In the early '90s, Arthur relocated to Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

, continuing to record home demos, playing local clubs and working as a guitar salesman at Clark Music Store.

In 1996, Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...

's A&R
A&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...

 associate Harvey Schartz presented Gabriel with a demo of Arthur's first EP, Cut and Blind
Cut and Blind
Cut and Blind is the debut EP from Joseph Arthur. The EP was entirely self-produced--Joseph sang and played every part on the EP, and the artwork was made in Joseph's house. The song "Pick Up the Phone" is an early version of "History," later re-recorded for his album Come to Where I'm From...

. Gabriel and Schwartz arranged a live audition at The Fez nightclub in New York City, and Arthur flew up from Atlanta. The night was a success; not only was Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...

 a guest in the audience, but within a few months Arthur was officially signed, making him the first American recording artist signed to Gabriel's label Arthur recorded his debut album at Gabriel's Real World Studios in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 with producer Markus Dravs
Markus Dravs
Markus Dravs is a music producer, programmer, engineer, and mixer.After hearing Brian Eno's collaboration with David Byrne "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts", he decided to get into engineering....

 (Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...

, Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...

, Arcade Fire). The debut album Big City Secrets
Big City Secrets
-Album credits:# "Big City Secret"#* Joseph Arthur: guitar and vocals#* Roger Beaujolais: vibes#* Martyn Barker: treated tubular kit#* Simon Edwards: bass#* Markus Dravs: keyboards, desert storm & gravel percussion# "Mercedes"...

was released worldwide in spring 1997, and Arthur joined Gabriel's WOMAD tour in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. Big City Secrets displayed Arthur's often angsty and emotionally-wrought lyrics coupled with diverse instrumentation, which he himself described as "someone struggling to heal over experimental folk-rock", but went virtually unnoticed by the mainstream. Two years later, he recorded an EP called Vacancy
Vacancy (EP)
Vacancy is an EP by Joseph Arthur released on May 11, 1999. Released by the independent label Undercover out of Portland, Oregon, Vacancy is a hand packaged, limited edition that was assembled one at a time by two people at Undercover. Each one was pressed and die-cut, then assembled and folded by...

, which earned him a Grammy nomination in 2000 for best recording package.

2000–2003: Come to Where I'm From and Redemption's Son

In April 2000, Arthur released his sophomore studio album Come to Where I'm From
Come To Where I'm From
Come to Where I'm From is the second official studio album by Joseph Arthur released by Real World Records on April 11, 2000. The album was co-produced by T-Bone Burnett, and features the singles "Chemical" and "In the Sun."-Track listing:-Singles:...

, which was co-produced with T-Bone Burnett
T-Bone Burnett
Joseph Henry Burnett , widely known as T-Bone Burnett, is an American musician, songwriter, and soundtrack and record producer.He was a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band on the Rolling Thunder Revue...

 and Tchad Blake
Tchad Blake
Tchad Blake is an American record producer, audio engineer, mixer and musician.He has worked with numerous artists and musicians, including State Radio, Apartment 26, Elvis Costello, Peter Gabriel, Pearl Jam, Tom Waits, Richard Thompson, Brazilian Girls, Sheryl Crow, November 2nd, Travis, Marike...

. The album exhibited a more polished and accessible sound, and received positive accolades from Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...

 and Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...

. Arthur began playing for larger audiences, opening for Ben Harper
Ben Harper
Benjamin Chase "Ben" Harper is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae and rock music and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live performances and activism. Harper's fan base spans several continents...

 and Gomez
Gomez (band)
Gomez are an English indie rock band from Southport, comprising Ian Ball , Paul "Blackie" Blackburn , Tom Gray , Ben Ottewell and Olly Peacock . The band is distinguished for having three singers and four songwriters, employing traditional and electronic instruments...

. During that same period, he released a promotional live album recorded at the Gypsy Tea Room bar in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...

.

After releasing a series of four EPs called Junkyard Hearts
Junkyard Hearts
Junkyard Hearts is a set of 4 EPs released independently by Joseph Arthur in 2002 to coincide with his first headline tour in the UK. The EPs were released on special edition CD and collectors' edition 12" vinyl . The EPs were only made available on the tour and are thus now hard to find...

, which were only available to purchase at his live shows, his third album, Redemption's Son
Redemption's Son
Redemption's Son is the third studio album by Joseph Arthur. The double album was first released in the UK only on May 20, 2002, due to Joseph being dropped by Virgin Records/EMI in the US...

, came out in May 2002 in the UK. The American release was delayed until November 2002 since Arthur had been dropped by EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...

 in North America, having been picked up by Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...

 imprint Enjoy Records. The double album furthered the themes of emotional and spiritual dislocation found on Come to Where I'm From, and was described by Allmusic reviewer Thom Jurek as a "sleeper hit."

While on tour, Arthur regularly released recordings of his performances soon after each show. He also recorded an album with alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 side project Holding the Void
Holding the Void
Holding the Void is the self-titled album by Joseph Arthur's side project of the same name. Holding the Void was recorded in late 2002 and released in early 2003 in limited quantities on and at his live shows...

, featuring himself on vocals and guitar, Pat Sansone
Pat Sansone
Pat Sansone is a multi-instrumentalist in the rock bands Wilco and The Autumn Defense.Sansone was born in Meridian, Mississippi...

 on vocals and bass, and Rene Lopez on vocals and drums. In Summer 2003, he toured with Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her singles "Fast Car", "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution", "Baby Can I Hold You", "Give Me One Reason" and "Telling Stories". She is a multi-platinum and four-time Grammy Award-winning artist.-Biography:Tracy Chapman was born in Cleveland,...

 in the US.

2004–2006: Our Shadows Will Remain

Arthur signed a new recording contract with Vector Recordings and began recording his fourth studio album, Our Shadows Will Remain
Our Shadows Will Remain
Our Shadows Will Remain is the fourth studio album by Joseph Arthur. The album was released in the US September 28, 2004 on 12" vinyl, October 12, 2004 on CD, and in the UK on July 11, 2005 on CD and double 12" vinyl...

across New Orleans, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, and Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

. The album was released in September 2004, and was Arthur's first album to feature string arrangements, provided by the City of Prague Philharmonic. The album was released to widespread critical acclaim; Allmusic's Thom Jurek awarded the album 4.5 out of 5 stars, praising that, "Arthur is in a class of his own and Our Shadows Will Remain is a monstrous, memorable outing, his finest moment in a career that is thus far full of them." Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...

gave the album an A rating, hailing the album as "especially forceful and cohesive"; The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

hailed that Joseph "might just be a genuine mad genius"; Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine was an online music and film magazine launched in 2002. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, a number of different podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog....

gave the album an A– rating; and Chris Rubin of Rolling Stone named Our Shadows Will Remain as the number 1 album of the year 2004 in the year-end critics' pick list.

Arthur toured the US alone and with Joan Wasser
Joan Wasser
Joan Wasser is a violinist and singer/songwriter in the indie rock world. She began her career playing violin with the Dambuilders. She has released three albums as a singer songwriter, the 2006 Real Life the 2008 To Survive and the 2011 The Deep Field...

 to promote the album, and a new EP called And the Thieves Are Gone
And The Thieves Are Gone
And the Thieves Are Gone is an EP by Joseph Arthur released on December 7, 2004. The bulk of the EP was recorded in New Orleans where much of the album Our Shadows Will Remain was produced. And the Thieves Are Gone was made available primarily at select US indie music stores only...

, which collected unreleased tracks from the Shadows recording sessions, came out in December. Shortly afterward, Arthur went on a brief tour of Europe with R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...

. Our Shadows Will Remain was picked up by 14th Floor Records
14th Floor Records
14th Floor Records is a British record label founded in 2002 by Christian Tattersfield as a joint venture with Warner Music UK. The label has released albums by artists such as Biffy Clyro, Damien Rice, David Gray, Longview, Mark Joseph, Nerina Pallot, Ray LaMontagne, and The Wombats.Tattersfield...

 for distribution in the United Kingdom in 2005, which yielded the release of four singles: "Can't Exist
Can't Exist
"Can't Exist" is a single taken from Joseph Arthur's fourth studio album Our Shadows Will Remain. Initially, it was the first single in the UK, released on CD and white-colored 7" vinyl on July 4, 2005. Then, it was re-issued as the fourth single from the album on 3-part 7" vinyl, released on May...

" in July, "Even Tho
Even Tho
"Even Tho" is the second single from Joseph Arthur's fourth studio album Our Shadows Will Remain. "Even Tho" features strings provided by the City of Prague Philarmonic. The single was released on September 26, 2005 in the UK on CD and 10" vinyl formats...

" in September, "Devil's Broom
Devil's Broom
"Devil's Broom" is the third single from Joseph Arthur's fourth studio album Our Shadows Will Remain. The single was released on February 13, 2006 in the UK to coincide with his live dates at Shepherd's Bush Empire. It was released on CD and 7" as well as digital download bundles. The CD single's...

" in February 2006 to coincide with his first headlining appearance at London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

's Shepherds Bush Empire, and a reissue
Reissue
A reissue is the repeated issue of a published work. In common usage, it refers to an album which has been released at least once before and is released again, sometimes with alterations or additions....

 of "Can't Exist" in May 2006, although none of the singles charted on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

.

In August 2006, Joseph was invited to help launch the project A River Blue, where a group of young people in northern Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

 were brought together to participate in a music, drama, and art festival. Joseph also recorded the song "A River Blue" for the foundation.

2006–2007: Lonely Astronaut Records, Nuclear Daydream, and Let's Just Be

Also in 2006, Arthur started the record label Lonely Astronaut Records
Lonely Astronaut Records
Lonely Astronaut is a record label founded by musician Joseph Arthur, his long-time professional partner Lauren Pattenaude, and Eric Gerber. The label was created in 2006...

 with longtime professional partner Lauren Pattenaude. He released a book entitled We Almost Made It
The Invisible Parade & We Almost Made It
We Almost Made It is the title of Joseph Arthur's first artbook, released in 2006. It comes with a CD titled The Invisible Parade, a 21-track disc of mostly instrumental songs. Joseph described the set as "an artbook with a soundtrack." Only 5000 copies of the book/disc set were released...

, a visual collection of his artworks, along with an accompanying instrumental CD titled The Invisible Parade in May 2006. In September 2006, Arthur released his fifth studio album, Nuclear Daydream
Nuclear Daydream
Nuclear Daydream is the fifth full-length album by Joseph Arthur, released on September 19, 2006. It was the first release through Joseph's own record label, Lonely Astronaut Records. The album version of "Enough to Get Away" was the first single in the UK to coincide with the album's release there...

, which was recorded in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

. The album would be the first release on his new label. Joseph then embarked on a worldwide tour with his new backing band, The Lonely Astronauts
The Lonely Astronauts
The Lonely Astronauts is the band originally started as Joseph Arthur's touring band. Joseph and the band have recorded and released two studio albums together thus far, titled Let's Just Be , and Temporary People...

.

His song "In the Sun
In the Sun (Joseph Arthur song)
"In the Sun" is the second single from Joseph Arthur's second studio album Come to Where I'm From, though the song had been performed during Joseph's live shows as early as 1996. The single was released in the UK and Europe on April 23, 2001 via Real World Records and Virgin Records. The original...

" was covered by Michael Stipe
Michael Stipe
John Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...

 of R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...

 and Chris Martin
Chris Martin
Christopher Anthony John "Chris" Martin is an English song-writer, who is the lead vocalist, pianist and rhythm guitarist of the band Coldplay. He is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.-Early life:...

 of Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...

 in 2006 for a Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...

 relief EP. The EP includes six versions of the song, one featuring Arthur himself singing with Stipe and another remixed by Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...

, and is available only on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

. On March 26, 2007, Joseph's then-UK label 14th Floor Records
14th Floor Records
14th Floor Records is a British record label founded in 2002 by Christian Tattersfield as a joint venture with Warner Music UK. The label has released albums by artists such as Biffy Clyro, Damien Rice, David Gray, Longview, Mark Joseph, Nerina Pallot, Ray LaMontagne, and The Wombats.Tattersfield...

 released a re-recorded version of his 2002 song "Honey and the Moon
Honey and the Moon
"Honey and the Moon" is a single from Joseph Arthur. The song originally appeared on Joseph's third studio album, Redemption's Son, and was released as a radio-only promo single in 2003, but was remixed for a 2007 commercial single release...

" as a special single in the UK only. In April, he released his sixth studio album, Let's Just Be
Let's Just Be
Let's Just Be is the sixth studio album by Joseph Arthur, and his first with his backing band The Lonely Astronauts. The album was released on April 17, 2007 in the US, and on September 3, 2007 in the UK...

, and embarked on an extensive US tour. This was Joseph's first album with The Lonely Astronauts; the band recorded as many as 80 songs in late 2006, with only sixteen appearing on the album. The album was released to lukewarm critical reception, with Pitchfork Media calling the album "unfocused" and "sloppy", summarizing that the album "sounds like it came together on the fly, in jam sessions that didn't stem from any kind of solid idea."

2008–present

In 2008, Arthur released four EPs in a four-month span: Could We Survive
Could We Survive
Could We Survive is an EP from singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Joseph Arthur. The EP was released in the US on March 18, 2008. Could We Survive is the first in a series of four EPs released in anticipation for the release of Joseph's seventh studio album Temporary People on September 30...

on March 18, Crazy Rain
Crazy Rain
- Notes :* Recorded and produced by Joseph Arthur, Mathias Schneeberger, and Jennifer Turner.* Musicians: Joseph Arthur, Mathias Schneeberger, Jennifer Turner, and Dave Rosser.* Guest vocals on "Killer's Knife" by James Hall....

on April 15, Vagabond Skies
Vagabond Skies
Vagabond Skies is an EP by singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur, released June 10, 2008, and is the third in a series of four EPs released in anticipation of Arthur's seventh studio album, Temporary People...

on June 10, and Foreign Girls
Foreign Girls
Foreign Girls is an EP from singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur, released July 8, 2008, and is the last of a series of EPs released in anticipation for Arthur's seventh studio album, Temporary People....

on July 8. Regarding these releases, Arthur noted, "I have so much music piled up, like strange animals in a cosmic cage begging for release. The jails were overcrowded. I had to let some of them go." He played seven solo shows during the SXSW 2008 Festival, six in Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...

 and one in Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...

. Live dates in Europe and an extensive US solo tour coincided with the new releases. Temporary People
Temporary People
Temporary People is the seventh full-length studio album from singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Joseph Arthur, and the second with his band The Lonely Astronauts...

, his seventh full-length studio album and second with The Lonely Astronauts, was released on September 30, 2008. The album was received warmly by critics, with The Times Online
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...

stating that it "evokes the loose, rocking swagger and country melancholy of early-1970s Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...

", and Crawdaddy!
Crawdaddy!
Crawdaddy! was the first U.S. magazine of rock and roll music criticism. Created in 1966 by college student Paul Williams in response to the increasing sophistication and cultural influence of popular music, Crawdaddy! was self-described as "the first magazine to take rock and roll...

 noting that Arthur "treats his audience to a brawny and brooding rock album, notching his most fully realized LP to date in the process." The album came out in Europe in late October, and afterward Arthur embarked on a solo tour and opened for Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her singles "Fast Car", "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution", "Baby Can I Hold You", "Give Me One Reason" and "Telling Stories". She is a multi-platinum and four-time Grammy Award-winning artist.-Biography:Tracy Chapman was born in Cleveland,...

 on her six-week "Our Bright Future" European tour, followed by tour dates in Canada.

Arthur recorded a cover of The Afghan Whigs
The Afghan Whigs
The Afghan Whigs were a soul-influenced American rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio. PopMatters described the band as "beyond simple genre categorization, and though lauded by the music press, never got their just due."-Band history:...

's "Step Into the Light" from their 1996 album Black Love
Black Love
Black Love is the fifth album by the band The Afghan Whigs, released on 1996. It was released on the Elektra label and was produced by Greg Dulli....

for the tribute album, Summer's Kiss: A Tribute to The Afghan Whigs. Following UK tour dates with The Lonely Astronauts in July, Arthur embarked on a solo tour of France in October 2009. A reissue of his 2006 album Nuclear Daydream with six previously unreleased bonus tracks was released during this tour.

Arthur, Ben Harper
Ben Harper
Benjamin Chase "Ben" Harper is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae and rock music and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live performances and activism. Harper's fan base spans several continents...

, and Dhani Harrison
Dhani Harrison
Dhani Harrison is an English musician and the son of George Harrison of The Beatles and Olivia Harrison. Harrison debuted as a professional musician when completing his father's final album Brainwashed after George Harrison's death in November 2001...

 formed the supergroup
Supergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....

 trio Fistful of Mercy
Fistful of Mercy
Fistful of Mercy is a rock group consisting of Dhani Harrison, Ben Harper and Joseph Arthur.-History:The band formed in February 2010, when Arthur asked Harper to accompany him in the studio; Harper then asked Harrison, whom he had met at a skate park in Santa Monica, California, to accompany them...

 in 2010, and their debut album As I Call You Down
As I Call You Down
As I Call You Down is the debut album by American rock supergroup Fistful of Mercy, released on October 5, 2010.-Track listing:-Personnel:*Dhani Harrison - lead, harmony, and backing vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar, keyboards...

was released on October 5, 2010. Arthur's first solo studio album since Nuclear Daydream, titled The Graduation Ceremony
The Graduation Ceremony
The Graduation Ceremony is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur, released on May 23, 2011 on Lonely Astronaut Records...

,was released on May 23, 2011.

Visual art

Arthur has also received acclaim as a painter and designer. His artwork has graced the sleeves of his entire discography, notably the album covers for Come to Where I'm From
Come To Where I'm From
Come to Where I'm From is the second official studio album by Joseph Arthur released by Real World Records on April 11, 2000. The album was co-produced by T-Bone Burnett, and features the singles "Chemical" and "In the Sun."-Track listing:-Singles:...

and Our Shadows Will Remain
Our Shadows Will Remain
Our Shadows Will Remain is the fourth studio album by Joseph Arthur. The album was released in the US September 28, 2004 on 12" vinyl, October 12, 2004 on CD, and in the UK on July 11, 2005 on CD and double 12" vinyl...

, which included a 36-page booklet featuring prints of his original artwork, and was released with a die-cut outer slipcase sleeve. Arthur and frequent graphic design collaborator Zachary Larner's sleeve design for the 1999 extended play
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

 Vacancy
Vacancy (EP)
Vacancy is an EP by Joseph Arthur released on May 11, 1999. Released by the independent label Undercover out of Portland, Oregon, Vacancy is a hand packaged, limited edition that was assembled one at a time by two people at Undercover. Each one was pressed and die-cut, then assembled and folded by...

was nominated for a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

 for Best Recording Package. He staged his first art exhibition in 2006 at the Vertigo Gallery in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 from February 10 to February 12, and released a 110-page book entitled We Almost Made It
The Invisible Parade & We Almost Made It
We Almost Made It is the title of Joseph Arthur's first artbook, released in 2006. It comes with a CD titled The Invisible Parade, a 21-track disc of mostly instrumental songs. Joseph described the set as "an artbook with a soundtrack." Only 5000 copies of the book/disc set were released...

, a visual collection of his artworks, along with an accompanying instrumental CD titled The Invisible Parade in May 2006.

He set up his personal art gallery The Museum of Modern Arthur in June 2007 as a brick and mortar location in Brooklyn's DUMBO District
DUMBO, Brooklyn
Dumbo, an acronym for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It encompasses two sections: one located between the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges, which connect Brooklyn to Manhattan across the East River, and another that continues...

. According to an article on Stereogum.com
Stereogum
Stereogum was one of the first MP3 blogs. It was created by Scott Lapatine in January 2002 with a focus on independent and alternative music news, downloads, videos, and gossip. Stereogum has received several awards and citations, including the 2008 Plug Award for best music blog, Blender's...

, Joseph and the MOMAR were evicted from the building. Joseph held a record release party for Temporary People
Temporary People
Temporary People is the seventh full-length studio album from singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Joseph Arthur, and the second with his band The Lonely Astronauts...

before the closing of the gallery in September 2008. The MOMAR gallery soon morphed into an online gallery.

Live performances

Arthur's one man band live performances incorporate looping techniques and several distortion techniques. His live performances are recorded through to the last note and then burnt to CD-R. They are sold immediately to fans after the concert. Beginning with his fall 2006 tour, Arthur incorporated a full band, The Lonely Astronauts
The Lonely Astronauts
The Lonely Astronauts is the band originally started as Joseph Arthur's touring band. Joseph and the band have recorded and released two studio albums together thus far, titled Let's Just Be , and Temporary People...

. They are no longer together.

The Lonely Astronauts were:
  • Joseph Arthur – vocals, guitar
  • Kraig Jarret Johnson – guitar, keyboards, vocals
  • Jennifer "Jen" Turner – guitar, vocals
  • Sibyl Buck – bass, vocals
  • Greg "G. Wiz" Wieczorek – drums, vocals

Instruments and loops

Of the guitars that Joseph utilizes, his primary acoustic guitar is an Irish Lowden 012C. Some of Joseph's other guitars include a Garrison G-50-CE, a Gibson ES-335, and a '70s Fender Strat.

To incorporate his looping techniques, Arthur uses a myriad of rackmounted units of the Lexicon JamMan. He plays his guitars through an impressive floor of effects pedals. When performing solo live, he often records a sample of guitar, percussion, or vocals which he can then loop periodically throughout a song, allowing him to perform verses with the added effect of harmonizing with himself.

Studio albums

  • Big City Secrets
    Big City Secrets
    -Album credits:# "Big City Secret"#* Joseph Arthur: guitar and vocals#* Roger Beaujolais: vibes#* Martyn Barker: treated tubular kit#* Simon Edwards: bass#* Markus Dravs: keyboards, desert storm & gravel percussion# "Mercedes"...

    (1997)
  • Come to Where I'm From
    Come To Where I'm From
    Come to Where I'm From is the second official studio album by Joseph Arthur released by Real World Records on April 11, 2000. The album was co-produced by T-Bone Burnett, and features the singles "Chemical" and "In the Sun."-Track listing:-Singles:...

    (2000)
  • Redemption's Son
    Redemption's Son
    Redemption's Son is the third studio album by Joseph Arthur. The double album was first released in the UK only on May 20, 2002, due to Joseph being dropped by Virgin Records/EMI in the US...

    (2002)
  • Our Shadows Will Remain
    Our Shadows Will Remain
    Our Shadows Will Remain is the fourth studio album by Joseph Arthur. The album was released in the US September 28, 2004 on 12" vinyl, October 12, 2004 on CD, and in the UK on July 11, 2005 on CD and double 12" vinyl...

    (2004)
  • Nuclear Daydream
    Nuclear Daydream
    Nuclear Daydream is the fifth full-length album by Joseph Arthur, released on September 19, 2006. It was the first release through Joseph's own record label, Lonely Astronaut Records. The album version of "Enough to Get Away" was the first single in the UK to coincide with the album's release there...

    (2006)
  • Let's Just Be
    Let's Just Be
    Let's Just Be is the sixth studio album by Joseph Arthur, and his first with his backing band The Lonely Astronauts. The album was released on April 17, 2007 in the US, and on September 3, 2007 in the UK...

    (2007) (with The Lonely Astronauts)
  • Temporary People
    Temporary People
    Temporary People is the seventh full-length studio album from singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Joseph Arthur, and the second with his band The Lonely Astronauts...

    (2008) (with The Lonely Astronauts)
  • The Graduation Ceremony
    The Graduation Ceremony
    The Graduation Ceremony is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur, released on May 23, 2011 on Lonely Astronaut Records...

    (2011)

EPs

  • Cut and Blind
    Cut and Blind
    Cut and Blind is the debut EP from Joseph Arthur. The EP was entirely self-produced--Joseph sang and played every part on the EP, and the artwork was made in Joseph's house. The song "Pick Up the Phone" is an early version of "History," later re-recorded for his album Come to Where I'm From...

    (August 1996)
  • Vacancy
    Vacancy (EP)
    Vacancy is an EP by Joseph Arthur released on May 11, 1999. Released by the independent label Undercover out of Portland, Oregon, Vacancy is a hand packaged, limited edition that was assembled one at a time by two people at Undercover. Each one was pressed and die-cut, then assembled and folded by...

    (May 11, 1999)
  • Junkyard Hearts
    Junkyard Hearts
    Junkyard Hearts is a set of 4 EPs released independently by Joseph Arthur in 2002 to coincide with his first headline tour in the UK. The EPs were released on special edition CD and collectors' edition 12" vinyl . The EPs were only made available on the tour and are thus now hard to find...

     I
    (February 15, 2002)
  • Junkyard Hearts
    Junkyard Hearts
    Junkyard Hearts is a set of 4 EPs released independently by Joseph Arthur in 2002 to coincide with his first headline tour in the UK. The EPs were released on special edition CD and collectors' edition 12" vinyl . The EPs were only made available on the tour and are thus now hard to find...

     II
    (February 28, 2002)
  • Junkyard Hearts
    Junkyard Hearts
    Junkyard Hearts is a set of 4 EPs released independently by Joseph Arthur in 2002 to coincide with his first headline tour in the UK. The EPs were released on special edition CD and collectors' edition 12" vinyl . The EPs were only made available on the tour and are thus now hard to find...

     III
    (March 15, 2002)
  • Junkyard Hearts
    Junkyard Hearts
    Junkyard Hearts is a set of 4 EPs released independently by Joseph Arthur in 2002 to coincide with his first headline tour in the UK. The EPs were released on special edition CD and collectors' edition 12" vinyl . The EPs were only made available on the tour and are thus now hard to find...

     IV
    (March 28, 2002)
  • And the Thieves Are Gone
    And The Thieves Are Gone
    And the Thieves Are Gone is an EP by Joseph Arthur released on December 7, 2004. The bulk of the EP was recorded in New Orleans where much of the album Our Shadows Will Remain was produced. And the Thieves Are Gone was made available primarily at select US indie music stores only...

    (December 7, 2004)
  • Could We Survive
    Could We Survive
    Could We Survive is an EP from singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Joseph Arthur. The EP was released in the US on March 18, 2008. Could We Survive is the first in a series of four EPs released in anticipation for the release of Joseph's seventh studio album Temporary People on September 30...

    (March 18, 2008)
  • Crazy Rain
    Crazy Rain
    - Notes :* Recorded and produced by Joseph Arthur, Mathias Schneeberger, and Jennifer Turner.* Musicians: Joseph Arthur, Mathias Schneeberger, Jennifer Turner, and Dave Rosser.* Guest vocals on "Killer's Knife" by James Hall....

    (April 15, 2008)
  • Vagabond Skies
    Vagabond Skies
    Vagabond Skies is an EP by singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur, released June 10, 2008, and is the third in a series of four EPs released in anticipation of Arthur's seventh studio album, Temporary People...

    (June 10, 2008)
  • Foreign Girls
    Foreign Girls
    Foreign Girls is an EP from singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur, released July 8, 2008, and is the last of a series of EPs released in anticipation for Arthur's seventh studio album, Temporary People....

    (July 8, 2008)

Soundtracks

  • Television
    • Conan (2011) ("Father's Son")
    • Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
      Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
      Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon on NBC. The show premiered on March 2, 2009, as the third incarnation of the Late Night franchise originated by David Letterman....

       (2010) ("Father's Son"))
    • Numb3rs
      NUMB3RS
      Numb3rs is an American television drama which premiered on CBS on January 23, 2005, and concluded on March 12, 2010. The series was created by Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heuton, and follows FBI Special Agent Don Eppes and his mathematical genius brother, Charlie Eppes , who helps Don solve crimes...

       (2009) ("Killer's Knife")
    • Hung
      Hung (TV series)
      Hung is a comedy-drama series, which premiered on HBO on June 28, 2009. The series was created by Dmitry Lipkin and Colette Burson and stars Thomas Jane as Ray Drecker, a struggling suburban Detroit high school baseball coach who resorts to male prostitution. The second season premiered on June 27,...

        (2009) ("Walk Away")
    • House
      House (TV series)
      House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...

       (2008) ("Could We Survive")
    • True Blood
      True Blood
      True Blood is an American television series created and produced by Alan Ball. It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris, detailing the co-existence of vampires and humans in Bon Temps, a fictional, small town in the state of Louisiana...

       (2008) ("Stumble and Pain")
    • Scrubs
      Scrubs (TV series)
      Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...

       (2006) ("In the Sun")
    • Newport Beach (2003) ("Honey And The Moon")
    • Wasted (2002) ("In the Sun")

  • Cinema
    • Shrek 2
      Shrek 2
      Shrek 2 is a 2004 American computer-animated fantasy comedy film, produced by DreamWorks Animation and directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon. It is the second installment in the Shrek film series and the sequel to 2001's Shrek...

       (2004) ("You're So True")
    • Saved!
      Saved!
      Saved! is a 2004 teen comedy-drama film involving elements of religious satire. It was directed by Brian Dannelly and written by Dannelly and Michael Urban. It stars Jena Malone, Mandy Moore, Macaulay Culkin, Patrick Fugit, Eva Amurri, Martin Donovan, and Mary-Louise Parker...

       (2004) ("In the Sun")
    • American Pie 3 (2003) ("Honey and the Moon")
    • The Bourne Supremacy
      The Bourne Supremacy
      The Bourne Supremacy is the second Jason Bourne novel written by Robert Ludlum, first published in 1986. It was the sequel to Ludlum's bestseller The Bourne Identity and precedes Ludlum's final Bourne novel, The Bourne Ultimatum ....

       (2002) ("In the Sun")
    • Shallow Hal
      Shallow Hal
      Shallow Hal is a 2001 romantic comedy film starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Jack Black, and Jason Alexander. It was directed by the Farrelly Brothers and filmed in and around Charlotte, North Carolina as well as Sterling and Princeton, Massachusetts at Wachusett Mountain.- Plot :Hal Larson is a...

       (2001) ("Chemical")
    • The Bourne Identity
      The Bourne Identity (2002 film)
      The Bourne Identity is a 2002 American spy film loosely based on Robert Ludlum's novel of the same name. It stars Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, an amnesiac attempting to discover his true identity amidst a clandestine conspiracy within the Central Intelligence Agency . The film also stars Franka...

       (1999) ("Porcupine")
    • Bone Collector (1999) ("Bed of nails")
    • Hell's Kitchen
      Hell's Kitchen (1998 film)
      Hell's Kitchen is a 1998 film starring Rosanna Arquette, William Forsythe, Angelina Jolie, Mekhi Phifer, and Johnny Whitworth. The film was written and directed by Tony Cinciripini...

      (1998) ("Invisible Hands", "Lost Gypsy Weapon", "Eyes on My Back", "Pictures of Life", "Cinderella Under Glass", "Big City Secret", "Good About Me", "Crying Like a Man", "Porcupine")

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK