John Grant

Born in Buchanan, Michigan in 1968 and after spending time in Colorado settling in Reykjavik, John Grant has developed since the 1990s a body of work that sits between alternative rock, indie rock, soft rock and synth-pop, with a marked taste for piano arrangements and electronic textures. He first came to prominence as co‑founder, singer and principal songwriter of The Czars, a band formed in Denver that released six albums between 1996 and 2005. After the group's split and a multi‑year hiatus, he returned as a solo artist with Queen of Denmark in 2010, recorded with Midlake, and then shifted his aesthetic decisively toward electronic pop and new wave on Pale Green Ghosts in 2013, conceived with Biggi Veira of GusGus. That dual orientation — between introspective balladry, pop melodies and synthetic production — also structures Grey Tickles, Black Pressure (2015), Love Is Magic (2018), Boy from Michigan (2021) and The Art of the Lie (2024). Based in Iceland since 2013, John Grant has also pursued numerous side projects and collaborations, notably with Sinéad O’Connor, Tracey Thorn, Elbow, Susanne Sundfør and as part of Creep Show, a band formed with members of Wrangler.