Sufjan Stevens is an American singer-songwriter and musician born in Detroit, Michigan. Stevens first began releasing his music on Asthmatic Kitty, a label co-founded with his stepfather, beginning with the 1999 release, A Sun Came. He is best known for his 2005 album, Illinois, which hit number one in the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart, and for the song "Chicago”.
Stevens has released albums of varying styles, from the electronica of Enjoy Your Rabbit and the lo-fi folk of Seven Swans to the symphonic instrumentation of Illinois and Christmas-themed Songs for Christmas. Stevens makes use of a variety of instruments, often playing many of them himself on the same recording, and writes music in various time signatures. He is considered part of the folk revival in indie pop, but his influences are very broad. His music has been likened to electronica and aesthetically compared to the minimalism of Steve Reich. Stevens' music originally contained spiritual elements; many songs (most notably on Seven Swans) draw their inspiration from Bible stories and themes. Recently, he has made a notable shift away from religious elements once present in his music, and has made several songs that distance himself considerably from the Christian religion, as present on 2010 albums All Delighted People EP and The Age of Adz.
The latest album "The Age of Adz” was released on October 12, 2010 by Asthmatic Kitty Records. It is Stevens' first song-based full length album in five years, since the release of Illinois in 2005. The album features a heavy use of electronics augmented by heavy orchestration, and takes inspiration from the apocalyptic artwork of schizophrenic artist Royal Robertson
In interviews, Stevens has stated that in 2009–2010 he suffered from a mysterious debilitating viral infection that affected his nervous system. He experienced chronic pain, and was forced to stop working on music for several months. He said: "The Age of Adz, is, in some ways, a result of that process of working through health issues and getting much more in touch with my physical self. That's why I think the record's really obsessed with sensation and has a hysterical melodrama to it.”
Sufjan Stevens is out on tour atm and did a visit to the Circus, Stockholm, Sweden yesterday. I must say, A really big production for such a small place as Circus, lots of gadgets and effects did they bring on at this trip. A big band crew with double drummers and a few dancers. The show was very electronic and did a high-impact, very entertainment. Part of the show was very psychedelic with UV light glowing in the dark moving to the beats and used projections of the artist Royal Robertson's (1936-1997) works, very nice effect.
That this is a real ”Stevens” week is actually pretty fun. Sufjan Stevens yesterday, Roger Stevens today and tomorrow, he is doing a double gig at the Globe, on the same day does Arctic Stevens a gig at Circus, on Friday do The Queen of the Stevens plays at Circus and Rush Stevens at Globe and finally Cat Stevens on Saturday.
Roger Stevens (Roger Waters)
Arctic Stevens (Arctic Monkeys)
Queen of the Stevens (Queen Of The Stone Age)
Rush Stevens (Rush)
Cat Stevens (Himself)
Here is some pictures from the show.
Here is some photos by James Hamilton from the Followspot place were he was ready to release some ballons…
Todays tune "Futile Devices” is taken from the latest album, enjoy!
Futile Devices (Live in Stockholm) 2011 @ Cirkus
More info @
Official Sufjan Stevens
Website No Spotify yet :(
Arctic Monkeys - Black Treacle Lyrics
