Keaton Henson | |
|---|---|
 Henson in 2012 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 24 March 1988 (1988-03-24) (age 37) London, England |
| Genres | Folk rock,classical,indie folk,rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, visual artist, poet |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar, piano |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Labels | Oak Ten Records Mercury KX/Decca/Universal Classics |
| Website | keatonhenson |
Keaton Henson (born 24 March 1988)[1] is an English musician, composer,[2] visual artist, and poet.He has released six studio albums, a wordless graphic novel titledGloaming, published byPocko,[3][4] and a book of poetry calledIdiot Verse.[5] Henson suffers from anxiety, and as a result, he rarely plays concerts.[6]
Keaton Henson was born in 1988 in London. He is the son of actorNicky Henson and ballet dancerMarguerite Porter, and the half-brother of composerChristian Henson.[7]
Henson began his career as an illustrator. He designed the artwork for various albums includingDananananaykroyd'sHey Everyone! andEnter Shikari'sTake to the Skies.[8] He recorded songs in his apartment in London, initially purely for his own consumption. He gave a recording of one of the songs as a gift to his best friend,[9] and was encouraged to put music online.[7] In November 2010, his debut albumDear... was released on Motive Sounds Recordings, in a self-made limited edition.[10] In 2011 he released the single "Metaphors" on Porchlight Records. He also recorded "Don't Be Afraid" for theTormented soundtrack.
Henson's musical breakthrough came whenZane Lowe played "You Don't Know How Lucky You Are" on BBC Radio 1 for the first time on 7 September 2011, saying: "That piece of music right there...is one of the most special pieces of music I've heard in a very very long time". Lowe said that the reaction from listeners had been "brilliant".[11]
Henson formed his own record company, Oak Ten Records, and officially re-released his debut albumDear... in 2012.[9] The album was critically acclaimed: theBBC reported "Keaton Henson isn't a show-off, but with talent like this, he has every right to be".[12] On Metacritic, the album received a score of 70 out of 100.[13]Dear... didn't enter the charts, but three singles were released–"Charon", "Small Hands" and "You Don't Know How Lucky You Are"–all accompanied by music videos. The video for "Charon" was shortlisted for a UK MVA award in Best Budget Indie/Rock Category.[14] "Small Hands" won Best Music Video at theRushes Soho Shorts Film Festival in 2012.[15]
In July 2012, Henson releasedThe Lucky. In November 2012, Henson designed a t-shirt for theYellow Bird Project to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Henson wrote and recorded his albumBirthdays in less than a year. He travelled to California to record the album and worked with American producerJoe Chiccarelli.[16] It was released in February 2013. The BBC stated: "Up there, warmed by the fire, he's cloistered away fromTwitter and all the other evils of this parish. There's no better way to shut out the din than by putting this record on".[17] A limited edition version of the album was released featuring three bonus songs and a hand-painted piece of art taken from a large painting by Henson which had been cut into 196 pieces.Birthdays had three singles: "Lying to You", "Sweetheart, What Have You Done To Us", and "You" (released as a limited edition 7" single forRecord Store Day with an etching by Henson on the b-side). The album was released as a limited book edition, featuring illustrations made by different artists accompanying the songs.[18]
In 2012 and 2013, Henson performed sporadically, usually in small venues, galleries, or museums. His art show "Hithermost" took place at the Pertwee, Anderson & Gold gallery in London in January 2013 and "sold quickly".[19] In August 2013, NPR Music published a liveTiny Desk Concert on its website and on YouTube. The songs performed included "You Don't Know How Lucky You Are", "Sweetheart What Have You Done to Us" and "You". In late 2013, he performed in three churches around England. On 16 June 2014, he performed at theQueen Elizabeth Hall in London as part of theJames Lavelle-curatedMeltdown festival.[20] On the day of the concert, Henson released the albumRomantic Works, featuring cellistRen Ford. It was streamed exclusively onThe Guardian website[21] and later onSpotify.
In early 2015, Henson composed a score forYoung Men, a dance project fromBalletBoyz, which was performed at theSadler's Wells Theatre in London as a co-production with14–18 NOW.[22] His first three albums were re-pressed on vinyl with bonus tracks in June 2015.[23] In October 2015, he released an album as part a side project under the pseudonymBehaving. The album was more electronic sounding than his previous releases and was first streamed on SoundCloud and iTunes.[24] The same month also saw the release ofIdiot Verse, Henson's debut poetry collection.[25]
In September 2016, Henson releasedKindly Now. In July 2018, hisSix Lethargies for string orchestra was premiered at theBarbican Centre byBritten Sinfonia. The 70-minute work was jointly commissioned by the Barbican,Vivid Sydney, andNational Concert Hall, Dublin. It was performed at theSydney Opera House and released as an LP in 2019.
In May 2020, Henson released his single "Career Day", his first release featuring vocals since "Epilogue". A follow-up single to 2016'sKindly Now, it was followed by the single "Ontario" in June. On 23 October 2020, Henson releasedMonument. The album featuresPhilip Selway ofRadiohead on drums and percussion. The album deals with his fatherNicky Henson and his battle with a terminal illness. The album was completed two days before his father's death. A follow-up EP to 'Monument', 'Fragments' was released on 27 August 2021. Recorded at the same time asMonument, it features eight tracks, including "Marionette", a collaboration withJulien Baker, and the singles "Before Growing Old", "Limb", and "No Love Lost."
Henson also provided the music for the 2020 filmSupernova directed byHarry Macqueen. The soundtrack was released by cityLakeshore Records on 29 January 2021.[26]
On 17 October 2022, Keaton released a video on his newly made TikTok account asking fans to request songs for him to perform covers of. Over the next two months, Keaton would release snippets of the requested covers to his TikTok account, eventually culminating in the release of the album,Keaton's Party Playlist, on 16 December 2022. The cover of Taylor Swift's Anti-Hero garnered over 100,000 views on TikTok.
On 9 June 2023, Keaton Henson released his seventh studio albumHouse Party. "Envy" was released on 15 February 2023, accompanied by a music video. In interviews,[27] Keaton mentioned that the concept of the album is from an alternative timeline in which an alternative Keaton Henson embraces the limelight and pursues fame, abandoning friends and family whilst simultaneously winding up all alone in the process.[citation needed]
"The Meeting Place" was released on 15 March 2023 accompanied by an animation video; described in reviews and interviews as something on the soundtrack of "10 Things I Hate About You". "I'm Not There" was released on 26 April accompanied by a music video. On 24 May 2023, "Late To You" was released accompanied by a music video.
Henson has appeared on The Flight's EPHangman,The Staves EPMexico and with the London electronic groupUnkle on several tracks including "Farewell", "Sonata" and "Sick Lullaby" fromThe Road: Part 1 and "The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face" fromThe Road: Part II (Lost Highway). He has co-writing and vocal credits on Daudi Matsiko's "King of Misery" (from the 2024 albumThe King of Misery).[28]
 | This sectionmay containirrelevant references topopular culture. Please helpimprove it by removing such content and addingcitations toreliable,independent sources.(November 2024) |
Henson's music has featured in the BBC Three zombie dramaIn the Flesh (2013–2014),Derek,Elementary,The Blacklist and in the 2014 filmX+Y (known asA Brilliant Young Mind in the U.S.). An excerpt from his poetry was quoted in the first episode of STARZ television seriesThe Gloaming. His song "Teach Me" was played on the TV showGrey's Anatomy in season 9, episode 19.
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2010/2012 | Dear...
|
| 2011 | B-Sides and Rarities
|
| 2013 | Birthdays
|
| 2014 | Romantic Works featuring Ren Ford
|
| 2015 | Behaving
|
| 2015 | 5 Years
|
| 2016 | Kindly Now
|
| 2019 | Six Lethargies
|
| 2020 | Monument
|
| 2021 | Fragments
|
| 2022 | Keaton's Party Playlist
|
| 2023 | House Party
|
| 2024 | Somnambulant Cycles
|
| Year | Location | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 12 December 2011 | Maida Vale Studios, London, England | Festive Festival |
| 4 October 2012 | The Cinema Museum, London, England | The Cinema Museum |
| 7 February 2013 | The Jeffrey Room at the Mitchell Library, Glasgow, Scotland | Museum Tour 2013 |
| 1 February 2013 | Preston Park Museum, Stockton-on-Tees, England | |
| 14 February 2013 | Manchester Museum, Manchester, England | |
| 18 February 2013 | Freud Museum, London, England | |
| 28 February 2013 | History of Science Museum, Oxford, England | |
| 1 March 2013 | History of Science Museum, Oxford, England | |
| 8 March 2013 | Booth Museum Of Natural History, Brighton, England | |
| 8 April 2013 | Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, New York, U.S. | Housing Works Bookstore Cafe |
| 9 October 2013 | The Chapel, San Francisco, California, U.S. | The Chapel, San Francisco |
| 11 April 2013 | Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever |
| 12 September 2013 | Emmanuel Centre, London, England | Emmanuel Centre |
| 11 October 2013 | The Methodist Church of Echo Park, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | The Methodist Church |
| 19 October 2013 | St Bartholomew's Church, Brighton, England | St Bartholomew's Church |
| 29 October 2013 | St Andrew's in the Square, Glasgow, Scotland | St Andrew's in the Square |
| 5 November 2013 | Église Saint-Eustache, Paris, France | Les Inrocks Festival 2013 |
| 7 November 2013 | Geertekerk, Utrecht, Netherlands | Geertekerk |
| 11 November 2013 | Town Hall, Manchester, England | Town Hall |
| 16 May 2014 | Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, England | Queen Elizabeth Hall |
| 11 May 2015 | Royal Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Netherlands | Holland Festival 2015 |
| 15 August 2015 | National Concert Hall, Dublin, Ireland | National Concert Hall |
| 27 November 2015 | Church of the Resurrection, Katowice, Poland | XXIV Festival Ars Cameralis |
| 4 February 2016 | Roundhouse, London, England | Roundhouse |
| 10 June 2016 | New Theatre, Cardiff, Wales | Festival Of Voice |
| 23 October 2016 | Café de la Danse, Paris, France | Café de la Danse |
| 26 October 2016 | Passionskirche, Berlin, Germany | Passionskirche |
| 1 November 2016 | Royal Theatre Carré (Koninklijk Theater Carré), Amsterdam, Netherlands | Royal Theatre Carré |
| 18 November 2016 | London Palladium, London, England | London Palladium |
| 14 January 2017 | Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever |
| 17 January 2017 | The Great Hall, Toronto, Canada | The Great Hall |
| 30 January 2017 | Konzerthaus, Vienna, Austria | Konzerthaus |
| 11 February 2017 | Olympia Theatre, Dublin, Ireland | Olympia Theatre |
| 31 May 2019 | Sydney Opera House, Australia | Vivid Festival |
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