Alain Johannes

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Alain Johannes
Cumbre del Rock Chileno - Alain Johannes - 01.jpg
Johannes in 2018
Background information
Birth nameAlain Johannes Mociulski
Born (1962-05-02) May 2, 1962 (age 62)
Santiago, Chile
Genres Alternative rock, blues rock, experimental rock, hard rock, electronic
Occupation(s) Musician, songwriter, producer, recording engineer
Instrument(s) Vocals, guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, saxophone
Years active1980spresent
Labels MCA, Interscope, Rekords Rekords, Sire, Ipecac
Website alainjohannes.com

Alain Johannes Mociulski (born May 2, 1962) is a Chilean-American multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, whose primary instruments are guitar and bass. He is a founding member of several bands, including the alternative rock group Eleven, and has been involved with acts such as hard rock band Queens of the Stone Age, Them Crooked Vultures, PJ Harvey, Chris Cornell, Arctic Monkeys, Mark Lanegan and The Desert Sessions, both as a musician and as a producer.

Contents

Alain Johannes is nephew of Chilean nueva ola musician Peter Rock. [1] He was born in Santiago de Chile. [2] He was married to Natasha Shneider from 1987 until her death in 2008.

Career

In his teen years, Johannes formed the band Chain Reaction (later Anthym) with Hillel Slovak, Todd Strassman, and Jack Irons. [3] This band was later renamed What Is This. Todd Strassman was replaced by Flea, who was replaced, upon leaving the band, by Chris Hutchinson.

In 1987, Johannes and Natasha Shneider formed the band Walk the Moon, which released one self-titled album on MCA Records. Reportedly, Chris Hutchinson and Jack Irons played on some of its tracks.

Eleven was formed in 1990 and released their debut album Awake in a Dream in 1991, which included the pop based singles "Rainbows End" and "All Together". They followed this with regular releases Eleven in 1993, Thunk! in 1995, Avantgardedog in 2000, and Howling Book in 2003.

Johannes was the only other contributor on the 1996 debut album by Jason Falkner, Jason Falkner Presents Author Unknown. He was also a significant contributor to Chris Cornell's 1999 solo album, Euphoria Morning as a guitarist, writer and producer. He also toured as part of Chris Cornell's band in support of this album alongside Natasha Shneider, Greg Upchurh and Rick Markmann, who also comprised Eleven's line-up at the time. He mixed and played on Jack Irons' first solo record, Attention Dimension , released in 2004, and he co-wrote on Danish stoner rock outfit The Royal Highness. [4]

In 2005, he joined Queens of the Stone Age to play guitar as well as bass on Lullabies to Paralyze . He had previously guested on Lullabies' predecessor, Songs for the Deaf , having also co-written the track "Hanging Tree" during one of The Desert Sessions. He would participate in the tour for the album and appears on the live DVD, Over the Years and Through the Woods in the main concert. Johannes once again contributed a main role to Lullabies' follow up, Era Vulgaris , but he opted to concentrate on Eleven with Natasha Shneider, and the pair bowed out of touring before the album's promotion started.

In 2007, Johannes became a part of Brody Dalle's post-Distillers effort, Spinnerette. [5]

In August 2009, he joined Them Crooked Vultures, with Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme and former Led Zeppelin bass player John Paul Jones. Johannes contributed guitar, bass, keyboards, and backing vocals on their 2009–2010 tour, often playing his own solo guitar section during the set.

In late 2008, a song he co-wrote with Shneider, Time for Miracles, was recorded by Adam Lambert and used in the movie 2012.

On October 5, 2010, he released his solo debut album Spark, a tribute to the late Natasha Shneider.

On September 5, 2012, Jimmy Eat World announced that he would be a producer/engineer on their 8th studio album. [6]

In 2013, he became a player in Dave Grohl's Sound City Players project, writing and recording a song for the album, and playing a major role in the live performances.

On November 11, 2014, he released his second solo album, Fragments and Wholes Vol. 1, drawing inspiration from the death of his parents as well as that of Natasha Shneider. [7]

Johannes began working with PJ Harvey in 2014. From 2016 to 2017, Johannes was a part of PJ Harvey's touring ensemble for her world tour in support of her album The Hope Six Demolition Project . He also played on the album itself.

In 2015, he was the producer of K's Choice album The Phantom Cowboy , [8] and Edith Crash's Partir . [9]

In 2016, he composed and performed the soundtrack for the Ubisoft game, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands . [10]

In 2020, his third solo record Hum was released on Ipecac Records to favorable critical reviews [11]

On September 3, 2022, Them Crooked Vultures reunited for a performance at Wembley Stadium in honour of Foo Fighters' late drummer Taylor Hawkins and again on September 27, 2022 at the Kia Forum for the second tribute show.

In May 2024, Alain was playing with Masters of Reality. He was also their support act, solo on stage with his 'cigar box' guitar. Johannes also toured across Europe with a selected band from countries he played in forming his backing band, allowing him to play Eleven and Desert Sessions songs in his sets. In the UK leg for example, Alain's backing band were Earl of Hell, who also opened for him on the tour. Along with past collaborator Chris Goss, Alain contributed the Jethro Tull song "Aqualung" from the 1971 album Aqualung to the tribute album Aqualung (Redux) released through Magnetic Eye Records in December 2024. [12] The song followed the original arrangement but was done in the a cappella format using voices performing the instrumentation along with various electronic percussion noises. It was favorably reviewed as being like a "nightmare" scored with surrealist music. [13]

Selected discography

Throughout his career Johannes has worked with a wide range of artists and bands in various genres as a musician, record engineer and producer. [14]

Band or artistAlbumYearCredits
Addie BrikWattsland (EP)1984Vocals, guitar, production
What Is This? Squeezed (EP)Vocals, guitar
What Is This? What Is This? 1985Vocals, guitar
What Is This? 3 Out of 5 Live (EP)
Thelonious MonsterBaby, You're Bummin' My Life Out in a Supreme Fashion1986Flute, saxophone
Walk the MoonWalk the Moon1987Vocals, guitar, saxophone, programming, percussion, e-bow
ElevenAwake In A Dream1991Guitar
Sun 60Only1993
Melissa FerrickMassive Blur
ElevenElevenGuitar, vocals
ElevenThunk1995Guitar, percussion, horn, sitar
Jason Falkner Presents Author Unknown 1996Guitar
Gouds ThumbGouds Thumb
Dalbello Whore
Chris Cornell Euphoria Morning 1999Guitar, bass, backing vocals, theremin, mandolin, clarinet, tabla, production, mixing
Queens of the Stone Age Rated R 2000Mixing
ElevenAvantgardedogGuitar, vocals, producer, engineer
No Doubt Return of Saturn Recording
The Desert Sessions Volume 7 & 8 2001Guitar, fiddle, harmonium, saxophone, vocals, clavinet, udu, mixing
Live V Sitar, production
No Doubt Rock Steady 2002Additional engineer
Queens of the Stone Age Songs for the Deaf Organ, piano, guitar, theremin, lap steel guitar
UNKLE Never, Never, Land 2003Remixing
Matt Costa Matt Costa (EP)Mastering
The Desert Sessions Volume 9 & 10 Guitar, bass, flute, vocals, mandolin, e-bow, keyboard
Mondo Generator A Drug Problem That Never Existed Engineer, mixing, mastering
ElevenHowling BookGuitar, vocals
Mark Lanegan Band Bubblegum 2004Guitar, bass, drums, organ, keyboards, vocals, mixing, production
Sugarcult Palm Trees and Power Lines Additional guitar
Jack Irons Attention Dimension Banjo, flute, guitar, saxophone, vocals, sarod, engineer, mixing, marxophone, santoor
Janubia [15] Mother Tongue Mixing, mastering, additional instrumentation
Masters of RealityGive Us BarabbasEditing
Eagles of Death Metal Peace Love Death Metal Piano, vocals, engineering, mastering, mixing
Queens of the Stone Age Lullabies to Paralyze 2005Bass, guitar, flute, marxophone
Queens of the Stone Age Over the Years and Through the Woods Bass, guitar, backing vocals
Millionaire Paradisiac Mixing, recording
Eagles of Death Metal Death by Sexy 2006Mixing
Wires on FireWires on FireSaxophone, mixing, mastering, engineering
Queens of the Stone Age Era Vulgaris 2007Bass, guitar, fiddle, marxophone, mixing
Silverchair Young Modern Slide guitar
Hilary Duff Dignity Mixing
Puscifer V is for Vagina Guitar
Spinnerette Ghetto Love (EP) 2008Bass
Eagles of Death Metal Heart On Horn, engineer
The Gutter Twins Saturnalia Recording
Kelly ClarksonAll I Ever Wanted2009Guitar
NosfellNosfellProducing, mixing, guitar, marxophone, bass, cigfiddle
Spinnerette Spinnerette Production, mixing, engineer, bass, guitar, cigfiddle
Arctic Monkeys Humbug Engineering
Them Crooked Vultures Them Crooked Vultures Recording, backing vocals
Alain JohannesSpark2010Recording, producing, mixing, guitars, vocals, bass
MannaShackles2011Producer
Mark Lanegan Blues Funeral 2012Producing, engineering, mixing, guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion, backing vocals
Sound City Reel to Real (soundtrack)2013Bass, vocals on "Your Wife is Calling"; guitar on "Centipede"; vocals, guitars on "A Trick With No Sleeve"
Loading DataDouble Disco Animal StyleProducer, backing vocals, drums, keyboards, bass, guitars
Jimmy Eat World Damage Producer
Brody Dalle Diploid Love 2014Co-producer, guitars, bass, piano, trumpet, mellotron, slide guitars
Alain JohannesFragments & Wholes, Vol. 1Recording, producing, mixing, guitars, vocals, bass
K's Choice The Phantom Cowboy 2015Producer
Kazuya Yoshii "Chōzetsu Dynamic!"Guitar
Edith Crash PartirProducer
Kensico White Sage 2015Guitars, e-bow, cigar box, percussions, recording
PJ Harvey The Hope Six Demolition Project 2016Guitar, handclapping, keyboards, percussion, saxophone, vocals (background)
Alain JohannesGhost Recon Wildlands OSTitaru
Mark Lanegan Band Gargoyle 2017Producer, co-writer, keyboards, guitar, bass, mellotron, synthesizer, percussion, e-bow, vocals (background)
Garry Pitcairn The Gospel 2019Mixing, mastering
AureliaSharp Words2019Producer, mixer, guitar, bass, cigar box guitar, keyboards, percussion, e-bow
Big Scenic Nowhere Vision Beyond Horizon2020Co-writer, guitar, vocals
PatrónPatrón2020Producer, engineer, mixer, keyboards, guitar, bass, vocals (background)
Alain JohannesHum2020Composer, engineer, mixing, primary artist.
Des RocsDream Machine2023Producer
Tarah Who?The Last Chase2024Producer, engineer, mixer, guitar, backing vocals

References

  1. "Alain Johannes - Emol.com". Buscador Emol. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  2. "Featured Content on Myspace". Profile.myspace.com. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  3. Thompson, Dave (2000). Alternative Rock : Third Ear - The Essential Listening Companion. San Francisco: Miller Freeman, Inc. p. 718. ISBN   978-0-87930-607-6.
  4. "Brody Dalle announces new band | News". Nme.com. March 27, 2007. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  5. "Twitter / jimmyeatworld: Today we begin our 1st full ..." Twitter.com. Archived from the original on December 10, 2012. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
  6. "Heartbreak leads Alain Johannes to 'Fragments and Wholes' | News". latimes.com. January 13, 2015. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  7. "K's Choice - The Phantom Cowboy". Kschoice.be. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  8. "Edith Crash - Partir". Coachellavalleyweekly.com. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
  9. "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands: The Music Of The Wildlands - Alain Johannes". Youtube.com. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  10. "Critic Reviews for Hum - Alain Johannes". Metacritic.com. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  11. "Aqualung (Redux), by Various Artists". Bandcamp . December 6, 2024. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  12. Lawson, Dom (December 5, 2024). "Aqualung Redux / Best Of Jethro Tull". BLABBERMOUTH.NET . Retrieved January 24, 2025.
  13. "Alain Johannes | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  14. "Janubia,Mother Tongue,Official Website,world music, cd". Janubia.com. Retrieved July 16, 2014.