Anton Barbeau

Last updated

Anton Barbeau
Anton barbeau.jpg
Barbeau in 2008
Background information
Born (1967-04-24) April 24, 1967 (age 57)
Origin Sacramento, California, US
Genres
OccupationMusician
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • piano
  • synthesizer
  • bass
  • drums
  • Mellotron
Years active1984–present
Labels
Website antonbarbeau.com

Anton Barbeau is an American singer-songwriter and producer from Sacramento, California. He is a multi-instrumentalist, playing guitar, piano, bass guitar, drums, synthesizers, and Mellotron. [1]

Contents

Barbeau is known for combining surreal lyrics with pop melodies and has been described as a devotee of the songwriting tradition of Robyn Hitchcock, Syd Barrett, XTC, and The Beatles. He has performed on bills with artists including Hitchcock, Julian Cope, The Bevis Frond, Weezer, Mono, and a reformed Bay City Rollers.

His first CD, The Horse's Tongue, a collection of songs that had appeared on a number of self-released cassettes. The Horse's Tongue won Sacramento's SAMMIE Award for Album of the Year in 1994. [2]

Since then he has released more than twenty albums, a number of singles and EPs, several anthologies, and collaborations with other artists. In the early 2000s, Barbeau began working extensively in the UK. His album King of Missouri was recorded in Bromley with neo-psychedelic band The Bevis Frond. The launch gig for Barbeau's following album, Guladong, took place at the famous Cavern Club in Liverpool.

Barbeau's collaboration with The Loud Family singer/guitarist Scott Miller, the album What If It Works? , was released in 2006. In the same year, Barbeau's albums Drug Free and In the Village of the Apple Sun were released; the latter was described as "an instant lost psychedelic classic". [3]

Since then, Barbeau has resided mainly in England and Europe. Automatic Door was released in the UK on Oxford's Shifty Disco label in 2007 and in France on Volvox in 2008. Other UK releases include Plastic Guitar (2009) and Psychedelic Mynde of Moses (2010).

Barbeau has also written and produced two albums with Sacramento singer Allyson Seconds, wife of 7 Seconds' singer Kevin Seconds. Her first album, Bag of Kittens, was released in fall of 2009. The second, Little World, was released in 2016 to critical acclaim, [4] and featured guests such as Colin Moulding (of XTC), Kimberley Rew (of The Soft Boys and Katrina and the Waves), and Scott Miller.

From 2010 to 2015, Barbeau performed in the band Three Minute Tease with Andy Metcalfe and Morris Windsor – erstwhile members of Robyn Hitchcock-led The Soft Boys/Egyptians. The band recorded two albums, Three Minute Tease and Bite The Hand, and toured the UK, including a supporting slot for New Zealand songwriter Don McGlashan.

Barbeau has also recorded and performed with Stornoway, Michael Urbano, Robbie McIntosh, Kimberley Rew, and members of Cake. Barbeau supported Julian Cope on Cope's 2011 and 2012 UK tours.

In 2016, Barbeau released Magic Act, his first post-Three Minute Tease album, and his first full-length vinyl release on Spain's You Are The Cosmos label. The album was also released on CD in the US on Mystery Lawn Music. The CD and LP versions feature different mixes of the lead-off track, "High Noon," with alternate bass and drum performances from Colin Moulding and Michael Urbano.

Natural Causes, the followup to "Magic Act," was released in 2018 as a joint release between Gare du Nord (UK) and Beehive Sound (US). The album was also released in Spain in 2019 on the Rock Indiana label. Berliner Grotesk, the third album in Barbeau's Transfiguration Trilogy, was released in 2019 on the Pink Hedgehog label. Kenny vs Thrust was recorded with two different bands [5] and released on Big Stir Records. His album Manbird was released in September 2020 as a 2CD set on the Gare du Nord label. This was followed by the July 16, 2021, release of Oh The Joys We Live For on Big Stir Records. His most recent album, Power Pop!!! was released on March 25, 2022, on the Big Stir Records label. [6] His double album Morgenmusik/Nachtschlager was released on September 22, 2023 by Think Like A Key Music.

Barbeau is currently based in Sacramento, California. [7]

Discography

Family

Anton Barbeau is a cousin of the actress Adrienne Barbeau.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Bevis Frond</span> English rock band

The Bevis Frond is an English rock band formed in 1986 in Walthamstow, London, England. The band is fronted by Nick Saloman and has recorded many singles and albums on various independent labels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Soft Boys</span> English psychedelic/folk-rock band led by Robyn Hitchcock

The Soft Boys were an English rock band led by guitarist Robyn Hitchcock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katrina and the Waves</span> British-American rock band

Katrina and the Waves were a British rock band formed in Cambridge in 1981, widely known for their 1985 hit "Walking on Sunshine". They won the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Love Shine a Light".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colin Moulding</span> English musician

Colin Ivor Moulding is an English bassist, singer, and songwriter who was one of the core members of the rock band XTC. Moulding wrote their first three charting UK singles: "Life Begins at the Hop" (1979), "Making Plans for Nigel" (1979) and "Generals and Majors" (1980).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Loud Family</span> American power pop band

The Loud Family was a San Francisco-based power pop band formed in 1991 by songwriter and guitarist Scott Miller, who previously led the 1980s band Game Theory. The Loud Family released six studio LPs and one live LP from 1991 through 2006. After Miller's death in 2013, three Loud Family members participated in recording sessions for Supercalifragile (2017), Miller's posthumous Game Theory album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Calhoun</span> American singer-songwriter

Andrew Calhoun is an American folk singer-songwriter based in the Chicago area.

<i>S. F. Sorrow</i> 1968 studio album by Pretty Things

S. F. Sorrow is the fourth album by the English rock band Pretty Things. Released in 1968, it is known as one of the first rock operas ever released.

<i>Underwater Moonlight</i> 1980 album by the Soft Boys

Underwater Moonlight is the second studio album by English rock band the Soft Boys, released in June 1980 by record label Armageddon. The album received little critical notice and was a commercial failure, and the band split up a few months after its release. However, Underwater Moonlight has retrospectively been viewed as a psychedelic classic, influential on the development of the neo-psychedelia music genre and on a number of bands, especially R.E.M. It is included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

<i>Psonic Psunspot</i> 1987 studio album by the Dukes of Stratosphear

Psonic Psunspot is the second album by English rock band the Dukes of Stratosphear, released in 1987. Also counted as XTC's tenth studio album, it is a follow-up to 25 O'Clock (1985).

<i>Their Satanic Majesties Second Request</i> 1996 studio album by The Brian Jonestown Massacre

Their Satanic Majesties' Second Request is the fourth studio album by American psychedelic rock band The Brian Jonestown Massacre. It was released on June 18, 1996, by record label Tangible and distributed by Bomp! Records, and is the second of three full-length albums released by the band that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Nicely</span> Musical artist

Nickolas Laurien, known professionally as Nick Nicely, is an English singer-songwriter who records psychedelic and electronic music. He is best known for his 1982 single "Hilly Fields (1892)". Nicely released only one other record in the early 1980s, the single "D.C.T. Dreams", before retreating from the music industry. The influence of "Hilly Fields" has been noted on Bevis Frond, Robyn Hitchcock, Robert Wyatt, and XTC's psychedelic alter egos the Dukes of Stratosphear, as well as the hypnagogic pop movement of the 2000s.

<i>What If It Works?</i> 2006 studio album by The Loud Family and Anton Barbeau

What If It Works? is the Loud Family's seventh full-length album, a studio collaboration with Sacramento-based pop musician Anton Barbeau released in 2006. A March 2022 reissue of the album, with eleven bonus tracks, was announced by Omnivore Recordings.

"The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count" is a song by the Divine Comedy. Written by Neil Hannon, it was originally recorded for the Liberation album and was issued as the B-side of "Lucy".

Andy Metcalfe is an English bassist, keyboardist, and producer, who played mainly with The Soft Boys, Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians (1984–1994), and with Squeeze off and on during the period 1985–1994.

The Chemistry Set are a psychedelic band from London, United Kingdom. Composed of former members of bands in the late 1980s neo-psychedelic scene, the group received regular airplay on John Peel's show and appeared on Tony Wilson's BBC2 show, 100%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Dukes of Stratosphear</span> English psychedelic band

The Dukes of Stratosphear were an English rock band formed in 1984 by Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding, Dave Gregory, and Ian Gregory. Modelled after psychedelic pop groups from the 1960s, the Dukes were initially publicised by Virgin Records as a mysterious new act, but were actually an XTC spin-off band. They recorded only two albums: 25 O'Clock (1985) and Psonic Psunspot (1987). In the UK, the records outsold XTC's then-current albums The Big Express (1984) and Skylarking (1986).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Presley</span> American musician, singer and songwriter

Tim Presley is an American musician, singer and songwriter. Presley began his career playing with the hardcore punk bands Model American and The Nerve Agents. In 2004, Presley founded the psychedelic rock band Darker My Love. In 2006 he joined The Fall, playing on the LP Reformation Post TLC, and was an occasional guest musician on the band's later albums. Since 2010, Presley has released music under the name White Fence. As of January 2019, he has released seven studio albums, two live albums, and two collaborative albums with Ty Segall under that name, as well as two albums with Cate Le Bon under the name DRINKS, an experimental solo album under the name W-X, and a solo album, THE WiNK, under his own name.

SALT, also known as The Salt Collective, is a French-American band that was formed in 2016 by songwriter Stéphane Schück (guitar), producer Ken Stringfellow (guitar), and Anton Barbeau. Joined by bassist Fred Quentin and drummer Benoit Lautridou, their first album was released in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fruits de Mer Records</span> British record label

Fruits de Mer Records is a British independent record label based in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England, established by Keith Jones and Andy Bracken in 2008. It releases psychedelic rock, psychedelic folk, folk rock, space rock and krautrock music, with an international roster of artists spanning from the 1960s to the present.

<i>The Bible of Bop</i> 1982 EP by Kimberley Rew

The Bible of Bop is a mini-album and the first solo release by English guitarist and songwriter Kimberley Rew, released in 1982. It mostly consists of tracks taken from three singles Rew released through indie label Armageddon between 1980 and 1982: two under his own name, backed by members of the dB's and the Soft Boys; and one as part of the Waves. In 2010, the album was reissued on CD for the first time on the CGB label with three bonus tracks.

References

  1. ↑ Rausch, Klaus (September 2, 2017). "Talk-Runde mit Mellotron-Liebhabern" [Talk round with Mellotron enthusiasts]. Amazona.de (in German). Archived from the original on September 13, 2017.
  2. ↑ Hage, Erik. "Anton Barbeau". AllMusic . All Media Guide. Archived from the original on May 23, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Anton Barbeau: In the Village of the Apple Sun: Reviews". antonbarbeau.com. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  4. ↑ Tucker, Ken. "Singer Allyson Seconds Revitalizes Power-Pop on 'Little World'". NPR.org. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Anton Barbeau Présente: Kenny vs Thrust". herecomestheflood.com. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Power Pop!!!, by Anton Barbeau". Big Stir Records. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Anton Barbeau". Discogs. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.