…I always knew, JOHN GRANT Boy From Michigan + Just So You Know, the film
John Grant – Boy From Michigan is available at Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music.
by Walter Price
When vastness melds with intimate, those moments as you witness the far-out and ethereal as earthbound and poetic verse becomes reality’s intricate storyboard, you will only scratch the surface of John Grant’s phenomenal ‘Boy From Michigan’ LP.
There isn’t much that I can say about an artist, an album, a complicated and beautiful career or an existence such as those of Mr. Grant. So, I won’t go too deep into the paint about this particular album. But I will say, that out of any LP I’ve had the privilege to spend time with this most bizarre year, ‘Boy From Michigan’ is by far the most beautifully complicated, gutwrenching honest, with no instances of singular emotion, and absolutely transformative.
But if you want to have a mental freakout, check out the music video for “Just So You Know”. Directed, choreographed, and performed in by the brilliant Brian Henry, this is a film, a narrative where body language and blatantly subtle violence become the confusion that thoughts really are. Like dreams, frustrations, memories, and histories, these experiences are not always easy to retell. And the images here feel like the agony of it all.
In a Facebook post dated October 7, 2021, Grant says of the video, “I’ve been looking for an opportunity to work with the incredible Krump dancer and teacher Brian Henry (aka Hallow Dreamz) since I worked with him on the video for Voodoo Doll many years ago and I’m so happy to finally have the chance to do that. Brian directed the video together with Kash Gaines of Yak Films. I wanted them to interpret the song as they saw fit and love what they’ve created.”
If you’ve always wanted to know one’s processes of facing their past head-on and its place in the now and subsequent future, then stream the full ‘Boy From Michigan’ LP as well as witness the film for “Just So You Know”, here at the GTC.
JOHN GRANT Boy From Michigan
+ Just So You Know, the film
Artist photo via Bandcamp
Boy From Michigan (Credits via Allmusic)
John Grant – Composer, Drum Programming, Mixing, Piano, Primary Artist, Synthesizer, Synthesizer Bass, Synthesizer Programming, Vocals, Vocoder
Paul Alexander – Bass
Stephen Black – Clarinet, Saxophone
Euan Hinshelwood – Saxophone
Heba Kadry – Mastering
Samur Khouja Engineer, Mixing
Cate Le Bon – Arranger, Bass, Clarinet, Guitar, Percussion, Producer, Saxophone, Saxophone Arrangement, Synthesizer, Synthesizer Bass
Stella Mozgawa – Drum Programming, Drums, Percussion
Casey Raymond/Rob Israel – Artwork
Gil Corral – Portraits
Scott King – Art Direction
FILM:
Dancer – Brian Henry (aka Hallow Dreamz)
Directed by Brian Henry w/ Kash Gaines of Yak Films
facebook // website // visual guide through BFM // instagram
Life is a battlefield each day
Yeah, “Who’s the new guy?” You might say
There were times I didn’t think that I would make it
I thought I’d never understand
And even now it still not over
I still get my DQ on with some frequency
No, I don’t mean Dairy Queen
I covered that on album three
Just so you know
I always knew that you loved me
Let there be no doubt or confusion in your brain…