Grimes

Grimes emerged as an innovative force whose recordings evoked visions of what lay ahead, helping define both the sonic and visual landscape from the 2010s onward. Early tracks such as the 2010 release Halfaxa wrapped her singular soprano in hazy textures that later sharpened and broadened on the 2012 album Visions, whose seamless fusion of dream pop, R&B, electronic, and hip-hop elements drew widespread praise. Further stylistic range appeared on 2015’s Art Angels, which folded country and metal accents into its restless arrangements while partnerships with Janelle Monáe, LOONA xxxy, and Bring Me the Horizon highlighted her versatility. Songwriting themes proved equally wide-ranging, encompassing autobiography, science fiction, feminism, and wider social questions, as heard on the 2020 album Miss Anthropocene, a dark meditation on climate change.

Born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Claire Boucher relocated to Montreal in 2006 to pursue neuroscience studies at McGill University. She adopted the Grimes moniker the following year, drawing structural ideas from Panda Bear’s Person Pitch for her own compositions. At the same time she and fellow artists organized performances inside a disused textile factory they named Lab Synthèse. That same community launched Arbutus Records, which issued her initial recordings. Two tracks under her own name appeared on a 2009 label sampler, after which the full-lengths Geidi Primes, inspired by Frank Herbert’s Dune series, and Halfaxa both arrived in 2010. In 2011 Boucher departed McGill, joined d’Eon for a split EP co-released by Arbutus and Hippos in Tanks, and supported Lykke Li on North American dates.

Grimes joined the 4AD roster in January 2012; her first album for the label, Visions, followed later that month. Created over several weeks inside her Montreal apartment, the record’s blend of luminous melodies and shadowy moods earned immediate acclaim, landing on numerous year-end lists and securing a Juno Award for Electronic Album of the Year. She signed with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation management in 2013 and issued the single “Go” in June 2014.

While preparing her fourth album, Grimes teamed with Bleachers for the 2015 track “Entropy,” written for the HBO series Girls, and unveiled the single “REALiTi” accompanied by a self-directed video. Art Angels, featuring guest appearances from Janelle Monáe and Taiwanese rapper Aristophanes, surfaced late that year and was celebrated for its daring yet accessible songcraft; the set topped Billboard’s Alternative Albums chart and reached number two on the Top Independent Albums chart.

In 2016 Grimes and singer-songwriter HANA launched The Ac!d Reign Chronicles, a series of self-produced videos filmed during a European tour. The following January she contributed vocals and production to a track with Aristophanes. That October the pair, performing as Trashique, issued a cover of Tegan and Sara’s “Dark Come Soon.”

Several prominent collaborations marked 2018. Grimes appeared on Monáe’s album Dirty Computer, worked with LOONA xxxy, guested on Euringer (the solo project of Mindless Self Indulgence’s Jimmy Urine) and on Poppy’s Am I a Girl?, supplied the song “that’s what the drugs are for” to an Apple commercial, and composed the theme for the Netflix animated series Hilda. November brought the industrial single “We Appreciate Power,” influenced by North Korea’s Moranbong Band and again featuring HANA.

Early in 2019 Grimes joined the U.K. metalcore group Bring Me the Horizon on the album amo. Later she previewed material from her fifth album, including the i_o collaboration “Violence” and “4ÆM,” the latter featured in the video game Cyberpunk 2077 where she portrayed the in-game singer Lizzy Wizzy. The resulting concept album Miss Anthropocene, an atmospheric yet forceful exploration of climate change and human extinction, arrived in February 2020. It led Billboard’s Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart, reached number three on the Independent Albums chart, and peaked at number 32 on the Billboard 200. The following year saw the release of Miss Anthropocene (Rave Edition), containing remixes by BloodPop, Channel Tres, Julien Bracht, Richie Hawtin, and Modeselektor. Also in 2021 came the single “Player of Games,” which appeared in the video game Rocket League.