Jehnny Beth | |
|---|---|
 Jehnny Beth in 2022 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Camille Berthomier |
| Also known as |
|
| Born | (1984-12-24)24 December 1984 (age 40) Poitiers, France |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer-songwriter, actress |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar, keyboards |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Labels | Pop Noire,Matador |
| Formerly of | |
| Website | www |
Jehnny Beth (bornCamille Berthomier, 24 December 1984[1]) is a French musician and actress originally fromPoitiers and based inLondon, England since 2006. She came to notability within Europe as one half of theindie rock duoJohn & Jehn, and globally as frontwoman of the English post-punk bandSavages.[2] Her debut solo albumTo Love Is to Live was released to critical acclaim in June 2020.[3] She has also collaborated with other artists such asTrentemøller,Julian Casablancas,Tindersticks,Gorillaz,Noel Gallagher,Romy Madley Croft ofthe xx,Idles andBobby Gillespie ofPrimal Scream. In 2021, she released aduet album with Gillespie titledUtopian Ashes which received favourable reviews.
In addition to her music career, Beth has played in several films includingAn Impossible Love in 2018, for which she received a nomination for theBest Female Newcomer at the 2019Cesar Awards, and the 2023 filmAnatomy of a Fall.
Jehnny Beth was born inPoitiers,Vienne, France to Catholictheater-director parents. Describing them, she said they, "[...] were keen to impress the importance of academic study on her and her sister [...]".[4][5] She had her first music instructors, a pair of jazz musicians, to learn piano and sing at the age of around 8,Chet Baker's songs in English. Her theatrical and musical career started in an early age by playing the title role inHenrik Ibsen'sPeer Gynt and performing her first piano recital at 10.[6][7] She was trained indramatic arts at theconservatoire de Poitiers.[8]
In late 2006, she moved to London with fellow John & Jehn member Nicolas Congé (aka Johnny Hostile) to pursue their career as a duo.
Beth met fellow musician Nicolas Congé and formed John & Jehn in France in 2006. They released twoalbums including theirself-titleddebut album which received favourable reviews.[9] The band also includes Savages' founding member Gemma Thompson on keyboards and guitar.
Originally formed in 2011 by Thompson and bassist Ayse Hassan, Beth became the vocalist of the band after Hostile turned down Thompson's request to front the band. The band gained commercial success when their debut album,Silence Yourself, which peaked at number 19 on theUK albums chart.Adore Life was released in 2016. Both albums were nominated for theMercury Prize, in 2013 and 2016 respectively.[10][11]
In 2015, Beth took part in the "David Bowie Is ..." exhibition by performing live some of Bowie's hits, including "Space Oddity" and "The Man Who Sold the World".[12] On 27 June 2016, Beth performed live solo to open forPJ Harvey at theEden Project in Cornwall, England.[13] On 11 February 2017, Beth played her first full solo (piano) performance at Grauzone Festival in The Hague, The Netherlands[14]
In June 2020, Beth releasedTo Love Is to Live, her first solo album – or "personal" album as she refers to it. It featured collaborations with singerJoe Talbot ofIdles, arranger and producerAtticus Ross (a frequent collaborator ofTrent Reznor), and singerRomy Madley Croft ofthe xx. Croft recorded backing vocals on the song "We Will Sin Together" which was promoted as a single. The album was widely acclaimed by critics.[15] Videos were shot to promote the singles "I'm the Man",[16] "Flower",[17] "Heroine",[18] and "We Will Sin Together".[19] Beth'sYouTube channel also includes a concert performed at theBBC Radio 6 Music Festival in London, at theRoundhouse prior to the release of the album.
In 2015, Danishelectronic music producer and multi-instrumentalistTrentemøller released the albumFixion, including "River in Me" and "Complicated" with Beth on vocals.[20] Trentemøller has described Beth's voice as "intense and unique".[21] In 2015, Beth andthe Strokes front manJulian Casablancas recorded a duet and released the single "Boy/Girl" (which was a cover version ofSort Sol andLydia Lunch).[22] In 2016, she duetted withPrimal Scream for a live performance of "Some Velvet Morning" at the Bristol's Downs festival.[23] That year, she recorded vocals for "We Are Dreamers" onTindersticks's albumThe Waiting Room. On 13 March, Beth joinedthe xx onstage to perform "Infinity" together atO2 Academy Brixton, London.[24] On 23 March, Beth was announced to be the featured artist for "We Got the Power",Gorillaz's second single from albumHumanz. The song also included formerOasis memberNoel Gallagher in backing vocals.[25] On 5 May 2017, they performed the song live onThe Graham Norton Show.[26]
Beth and Hostile wrote the score for the documentary filmXY Chelsea in 2019. The 23 songs were released under the banner of "XY Chelsea -original soundtrack composed and performed by Johnny Hostile and Jehnny Beth", on double LP vinyl on the website of their label Pop Noire.[27] "Let it Out" was the single featuring Beth on vocals released ahead of the album.[28] In 2020, Beth recorded vocals on the song "Ne Touche pas Moi" for Idles on their albumUltra Mono.[29]
In 2021, she releasedUtopian Ashes, a duet album with Bobby Gillepsie; it was issued under the banner of both artists "Bobby Gillepsie and Jehnny Beth".Utopian Ashes was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. AtMetacritic, which assigns anormalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received anaverage score of 80, based on 14 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[30] Two videos featuring Beth and Gillespie were shot to accompany the singles "Chase it Down" and "Remember We Were Lovers" and uploaded on YouTube.
Beth played the lead role in the 2005 Frenchmystery filmThrough the Forest directed byJean-Paul Civeyrac.[31] She also played a role as Marie-Jeanne in a 2009horror French filmSodium Babies.[32] In 2018 she played a role in the filmAn Impossible Love by director Catherine Corsini: Beth then received a nomination for the "Best Female Newcomer" at the2019 Cesar Awards which is the national film award of France.[33]
She published a book titledC.A.L.M: 12 erotic short stories with Johnny Hostile in June 2020. The book included film noir stories written by Beth with photographs taken by Hostile. It was presented as a "manifesto in the form of erotic photography, monologues and dialogues, Johnny Hostile's stimulating photography punctuates Jehnny Beth's seductive prose". The full collection of Hostile's photography is featured in a limited-edition hard cover art book titleC.A.L.M: Crimes Against Love Memories. A fanzine with a different content, also titledCalm, was also issued.[34]
She ran her ownBeats 1radio programme,Start Making Sense, which premiered on 12 April 2016.[35] In 2020, Beth also started to present a 60 minute TV show on European channelArte, titledEchoes with Jehnny Beth, featuring discussions with musicians and live performances of bands: all the episodes ofEchoes with Jehnny Beth are available onYouTube worldwide.
In 2011, she founded therecord label "Pop Noire" with Johnny Hostile and artist director Antoine Carlier.[36] Their label, based in Paris, features several French and International acts on their roster.[37]
Beth has been in a relationship with Johnny Hostile since 2006.[38][39] She isbisexual, stating that "I’ve been a bisexual since a very young age."[40]
| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Through the Forest | Armelle | Credited as Camille Berthomier |
| 2009 | Sodium Babies | Marie-Jeanne | |
| 2018 | An Impossible Love | Chantal | |
| 2019 | Oh les filles! | Herself | |
| 2021 | Paris, 13th District | Amber Sweet | |
| Kaamelott: The First Chapter | Wulfstan | ||
| 2022 | En même temps | Nina | |
| Don Juan | The stage director | ||
| Astrakan | Marie | ||
| 2023 | Stranger | Short film; also co-director | |
| Anatomy of a Fall | Marge | ||
| Split | Eve | Miniseries |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
