Biography
Renowned across multiple artistic fields, Anohni fuses her genre-spanning compositions—encompassing electronic textures, piano ballads, dance grooves, and experimental forms—with her emotive vocal style and steadfast commitment to confronting societal wrongs. International recognition arrived via the 2005 Mercury Prize-winning release I Am a Bird Now, credited to Antony and the Johnsons. The social concerns threaded through her work—among them racism, sexism, homophobia, capitalism, and climate change—surfaced prominently on the 2016 Mercury-nominated solo debut Hopelessness, which leaned into electronic production. That same year, the track “Manta Ray,” taken from the environmental film Racing Extinction, secured an Academy Award nomination. Further explorations of activism and emotional openness appeared on the 2017 Paradise EP, the pre-2020 Republican National Convention rendering of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive,” and the 2023 Anohni and the Johnsons album My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross.
Originating in the U.K. and raised in California, Anohni Hegarty (born Antony Hegarty) absorbed influences from British new wave vocalists such as Boy George, Alison Moyet, Kate Bush, and Marc Almond during formative years. Following the family’s relocation to California, additional inspiration came from American artists including Donnie Hathaway, Otis Redding, and Nina Simone. In 1990 Anohni moved to New York City to pursue experimental theater studies at New York University, simultaneously developing songwriting and performance work within the city’s early-’90s underground club scene. She co-established the Blacklips Performance Cult collective, which staged weekly Monday-night presentations at the Pyramid Club from 1992 through 1995. Her stage persona at the time drew from Blue Velvet-era Isabella Rossellini and the cover illustration of a shaved-head woman on Soft Cell’s 1982 single “Torch.”
Receipt of a New York Foundation for the Arts grant supporting the production The Birth of Anne Frank/The Ascension of Marsha P. Johnson prompted Anohni to assemble a backing ensemble that evolved into the Johnsons. Honoring the gay liberation activist, Antony and the Johnsons coalesced in 1998 and appeared regularly at spaces such as the Knitting Factory and the Pyramid Club. A demo reached Current 93’s David Tibet, leading to the 2000 Durtro release featuring Baby Dee and William Basinski; that year Anohni also took a singing part in Steve Buscemi’s film Animal Factory. The 2001 I Fell in Love with a Dead Boy EP followed, incorporating covers of Current 93’s “Soft Black Stars” and David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti’s “Mysteries of Love.” Subsequent appearances included Lou Reed’s The Raven and Animal Serenade albums, plus participation in Reed’s 2003 world tour.
Following the November 2004 Secretly Canadian release of The Lake EP, Antony and the Johnsons delivered their second album, I Am a Bird Now, in February 2005. Guest contributions from Reed, Boy George, Rufus Wainwright, and Joan Wasser helped secure widespread acclaim for the record’s atmospheric quality and the Mercury Prize. Post-victory, I Am a Bird Now entered the U.K. Albums chart Top 20, charted across Europe, and yielded U.K. Singles chart entries for “Hope There’s Someone” and “You Are My Sister.” Certifications reached gold status in the U.K., Norway, and Sweden. Amid extensive touring, Anohni partnered with video artist Charles Atlas on the performance work Turning, pairing live Antony and the Johnsons concerts with Atlas’s real-time video portraits of New York City women, among them transgender participants Honey Dijon, Johanna Constantine, Connie Fleming, Julia Yasuda, Kembra Pfahler, and Eliza Douglas. Late 2006 and early 2007 saw Anohni join Reed’s first complete renditions of Berlin in New York City and Sydney, Australia, while also contributing to Björk’s Volta and the Leonard Cohen documentary I’m Your Man. Vocals appeared on Hercules & Love Affair singles, notably the 2008 U.K. Top 40 hit “Blind.” A July 2008 Brussels exhibition displayed Anohni’s visual artwork.
October 2008 brought the Another World EP, which registered on European, Australian, and U.S. charts—including number four on the Top Heatseekers chart. January 2009’s The Crying Light, mixed by Bryce Goggin with arrangements by Nico Muhly and centered on “landscape and the future,” topped European Billboard charts, reached Top Ten positions in France and Italy, and entered the Top 20 in the U.K. and Germany; U.S. peaks were number 65 on the Billboard 200 and number seven on Independent Albums. Post-tour performances included a 2009 Manchester International Festival presentation with the Manchester Camerata and laser design by Chris Levine. Additional 2009 activities encompassed curating the 6 Eyes exhibition at Paris’s Agnes B. Galerie Du Jour, performing with Yoko Ono and the Plastic Ono Band at Ornette Coleman’s Meltdown Festival, and collaborating with Bryce Dessner on Bob Dylan’s “I Was Young When I Left Home” for the Red Hot Organization benefit Dark Was the Night.
The August 2010 Thank You for Your Love EP, featuring stripped-down versions of John Lennon’s “Imagine” and Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” preceded October’s Swanlights. The orchestrated art-pop album reached Top 20 positions across several European territories and number 28 on the U.K. Albums chart, while attaining number 122 on the U.S. Billboard 200. Abrams Books published a 2011 hardcover art-book edition containing Hegarty’s paintings, drawings, photography, collages, lyrics, and writings. That year Anohni served as musical director for The Life and Death of Marina Abramović at the Manchester International Festival. Early 2012 brought a Hammer Museum solo exhibition of sculptures and drawings; later Antony and the Johnsons presented Swanlights at Radio City Music Hall with Levine’s visuals, later restaged at London’s Royal Opera House and Madrid’s Teatro Real. August saw the symphonic retrospective Cut the World, recorded with the Danish National Chamber Orchestra and including the new title track written for the Abramović opera; double-silver certified across Europe, it reached number 41 on the U.K. Albums chart and number 42 on the U.S. Independent Albums chart.
2013 encompassed a solo exhibition at New York’s Sikkema Jenkins Gallery and a Verona Arena performance with Franco Battiato documented on November’s Del Suo Veloce Volo. In 2014 Anohni mounted another Sikkema Jenkins exhibition and inaugurated the Future Feminism series alongside Pfahler, Johanna Constantine, and CocoRosie’s Bianca and Sierra Casady, accompanied by a 13-day festival featuring Marina Abramović, Juliana Huxtable, and Laurie Anderson. The soundtrack to Atlas’s Turning documentary appeared alongside a concert film. The following year Anohni supplied vocals to “Atom Dance” on Björk’s Vulnicura, while Antony and the Johnsons performed at Tasmania’s Dark Mofo festival in solidarity with the Martu people opposing a uranium mine near Parnngurr.
November 2015 introduced the lead single “4 Degrees” from the forthcoming solo album. Released in May 2016, Hopelessness—produced in partnership with Hudson Mohawke and Oneohtrix Point Never—conveyed mounting disillusionment through dark electronic experimentation, charting throughout Europe with peaks at number 26 on the U.K. Albums chart and number 121 on the Billboard 200. Additional 2016 milestones included the My Truth exhibition at Germany’s Kunsthalle Bielefeld and an Academy Award nomination, shared with J. Ralph, for “Manta Ray” from Racing Extinction. Early 2017 delivered the Paradise EP companion, reaching number 24 on the U.S. Heatseekers Albums chart; later appearances included the CocoRosie single “Smoke ’Em Out.” August 2017 brought Future Feminism presentations in Aarhus, Denmark. A 2018 multimedia exhibition at Copenhagen’s Nikolaj Contemporary Art Center assembled artifacts from Anohni’s New York experimental-theater period, archival footage of the 1996 production Miracle Now, paintings, and sculptures, accompanied by the YouTube release of the song “Miracle Now.” The 2019 LOVE exhibition at New York’s The Kitchen coincided with a photo book by Erika Yasuda, wife of the late Julia Yasuda; that year also featured the play She Saw Beautiful Things, performed with Atlas, Anderson, and Fleming. In 2020 Anohni released covers of Dylan’s “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue,” Nina Simone’s “Be My Husband,” and Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive.”
Early-2020s endeavors encompassed the score for the 2021 Drift collective sculpture installation Fragile Future and co-writing six tracks on Hercules & Love Affair’s 2022 album In Amber. Reformation of Anohni and the Johnsons—now including Jimmy Hogarth, Leo Abrahams, Chris Vatalaro, Julia Kent, Maxim Moston, Doug Wieselman, Gael Rakotondrabe, Sam Dixon, and Mazz Swift—yielded the May 2023 protest single “It Must Change,” previewing July’s My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross. Co-produced by Hogarth and shaped by personal loss, climate deterioration, and touchstones such as Jimmy Scott and Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, the album carried an image of Marsha P. Johnson on its cover and integrated American soul foundations with British folk and experimental elements.
Originating in the U.K. and raised in California, Anohni Hegarty (born Antony Hegarty) absorbed influences from British new wave vocalists such as Boy George, Alison Moyet, Kate Bush, and Marc Almond during formative years. Following the family’s relocation to California, additional inspiration came from American artists including Donnie Hathaway, Otis Redding, and Nina Simone. In 1990 Anohni moved to New York City to pursue experimental theater studies at New York University, simultaneously developing songwriting and performance work within the city’s early-’90s underground club scene. She co-established the Blacklips Performance Cult collective, which staged weekly Monday-night presentations at the Pyramid Club from 1992 through 1995. Her stage persona at the time drew from Blue Velvet-era Isabella Rossellini and the cover illustration of a shaved-head woman on Soft Cell’s 1982 single “Torch.”
Receipt of a New York Foundation for the Arts grant supporting the production The Birth of Anne Frank/The Ascension of Marsha P. Johnson prompted Anohni to assemble a backing ensemble that evolved into the Johnsons. Honoring the gay liberation activist, Antony and the Johnsons coalesced in 1998 and appeared regularly at spaces such as the Knitting Factory and the Pyramid Club. A demo reached Current 93’s David Tibet, leading to the 2000 Durtro release featuring Baby Dee and William Basinski; that year Anohni also took a singing part in Steve Buscemi’s film Animal Factory. The 2001 I Fell in Love with a Dead Boy EP followed, incorporating covers of Current 93’s “Soft Black Stars” and David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti’s “Mysteries of Love.” Subsequent appearances included Lou Reed’s The Raven and Animal Serenade albums, plus participation in Reed’s 2003 world tour.
Following the November 2004 Secretly Canadian release of The Lake EP, Antony and the Johnsons delivered their second album, I Am a Bird Now, in February 2005. Guest contributions from Reed, Boy George, Rufus Wainwright, and Joan Wasser helped secure widespread acclaim for the record’s atmospheric quality and the Mercury Prize. Post-victory, I Am a Bird Now entered the U.K. Albums chart Top 20, charted across Europe, and yielded U.K. Singles chart entries for “Hope There’s Someone” and “You Are My Sister.” Certifications reached gold status in the U.K., Norway, and Sweden. Amid extensive touring, Anohni partnered with video artist Charles Atlas on the performance work Turning, pairing live Antony and the Johnsons concerts with Atlas’s real-time video portraits of New York City women, among them transgender participants Honey Dijon, Johanna Constantine, Connie Fleming, Julia Yasuda, Kembra Pfahler, and Eliza Douglas. Late 2006 and early 2007 saw Anohni join Reed’s first complete renditions of Berlin in New York City and Sydney, Australia, while also contributing to Björk’s Volta and the Leonard Cohen documentary I’m Your Man. Vocals appeared on Hercules & Love Affair singles, notably the 2008 U.K. Top 40 hit “Blind.” A July 2008 Brussels exhibition displayed Anohni’s visual artwork.
October 2008 brought the Another World EP, which registered on European, Australian, and U.S. charts—including number four on the Top Heatseekers chart. January 2009’s The Crying Light, mixed by Bryce Goggin with arrangements by Nico Muhly and centered on “landscape and the future,” topped European Billboard charts, reached Top Ten positions in France and Italy, and entered the Top 20 in the U.K. and Germany; U.S. peaks were number 65 on the Billboard 200 and number seven on Independent Albums. Post-tour performances included a 2009 Manchester International Festival presentation with the Manchester Camerata and laser design by Chris Levine. Additional 2009 activities encompassed curating the 6 Eyes exhibition at Paris’s Agnes B. Galerie Du Jour, performing with Yoko Ono and the Plastic Ono Band at Ornette Coleman’s Meltdown Festival, and collaborating with Bryce Dessner on Bob Dylan’s “I Was Young When I Left Home” for the Red Hot Organization benefit Dark Was the Night.
The August 2010 Thank You for Your Love EP, featuring stripped-down versions of John Lennon’s “Imagine” and Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” preceded October’s Swanlights. The orchestrated art-pop album reached Top 20 positions across several European territories and number 28 on the U.K. Albums chart, while attaining number 122 on the U.S. Billboard 200. Abrams Books published a 2011 hardcover art-book edition containing Hegarty’s paintings, drawings, photography, collages, lyrics, and writings. That year Anohni served as musical director for The Life and Death of Marina Abramović at the Manchester International Festival. Early 2012 brought a Hammer Museum solo exhibition of sculptures and drawings; later Antony and the Johnsons presented Swanlights at Radio City Music Hall with Levine’s visuals, later restaged at London’s Royal Opera House and Madrid’s Teatro Real. August saw the symphonic retrospective Cut the World, recorded with the Danish National Chamber Orchestra and including the new title track written for the Abramović opera; double-silver certified across Europe, it reached number 41 on the U.K. Albums chart and number 42 on the U.S. Independent Albums chart.
2013 encompassed a solo exhibition at New York’s Sikkema Jenkins Gallery and a Verona Arena performance with Franco Battiato documented on November’s Del Suo Veloce Volo. In 2014 Anohni mounted another Sikkema Jenkins exhibition and inaugurated the Future Feminism series alongside Pfahler, Johanna Constantine, and CocoRosie’s Bianca and Sierra Casady, accompanied by a 13-day festival featuring Marina Abramović, Juliana Huxtable, and Laurie Anderson. The soundtrack to Atlas’s Turning documentary appeared alongside a concert film. The following year Anohni supplied vocals to “Atom Dance” on Björk’s Vulnicura, while Antony and the Johnsons performed at Tasmania’s Dark Mofo festival in solidarity with the Martu people opposing a uranium mine near Parnngurr.
November 2015 introduced the lead single “4 Degrees” from the forthcoming solo album. Released in May 2016, Hopelessness—produced in partnership with Hudson Mohawke and Oneohtrix Point Never—conveyed mounting disillusionment through dark electronic experimentation, charting throughout Europe with peaks at number 26 on the U.K. Albums chart and number 121 on the Billboard 200. Additional 2016 milestones included the My Truth exhibition at Germany’s Kunsthalle Bielefeld and an Academy Award nomination, shared with J. Ralph, for “Manta Ray” from Racing Extinction. Early 2017 delivered the Paradise EP companion, reaching number 24 on the U.S. Heatseekers Albums chart; later appearances included the CocoRosie single “Smoke ’Em Out.” August 2017 brought Future Feminism presentations in Aarhus, Denmark. A 2018 multimedia exhibition at Copenhagen’s Nikolaj Contemporary Art Center assembled artifacts from Anohni’s New York experimental-theater period, archival footage of the 1996 production Miracle Now, paintings, and sculptures, accompanied by the YouTube release of the song “Miracle Now.” The 2019 LOVE exhibition at New York’s The Kitchen coincided with a photo book by Erika Yasuda, wife of the late Julia Yasuda; that year also featured the play She Saw Beautiful Things, performed with Atlas, Anderson, and Fleming. In 2020 Anohni released covers of Dylan’s “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue,” Nina Simone’s “Be My Husband,” and Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive.”
Early-2020s endeavors encompassed the score for the 2021 Drift collective sculpture installation Fragile Future and co-writing six tracks on Hercules & Love Affair’s 2022 album In Amber. Reformation of Anohni and the Johnsons—now including Jimmy Hogarth, Leo Abrahams, Chris Vatalaro, Julia Kent, Maxim Moston, Doug Wieselman, Gael Rakotondrabe, Sam Dixon, and Mazz Swift—yielded the May 2023 protest single “It Must Change,” previewing July’s My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross. Co-produced by Hogarth and shaped by personal loss, climate deterioration, and touchstones such as Jimmy Scott and Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, the album carried an image of Marsha P. Johnson on its cover and integrated American soul foundations with British folk and experimental elements.
Albums
Singles
