JOHN GRANT
John Grant, now 50, returns with a gritty new album of electronica, Love Is Magic. In this DNA interview, Trump, transphobia, the politics of hate and the magic of love are all up for discussion. By Marc Andrews
The gay pop genius returns with a gritty new album of electronica, Love Is Magic. In this DNA interview, Trump, transphobia, the politics of hate and the magic of love are all up for discussion.
Love Is Magic is not your average gay pop record. Its avant-garde creator, John Grant is not the kind of gay man who does things by halves. This is, quite possibly, the reason his music has resonated so brilliantly through the years among the LGBT community.
At the ripe young age of 50, Love Is Magic is Grant’s fourth solo album and to say that he has embraced electronica like never before would be an understatement. Meanwhile, his lyrics remain as acerbic and witty as ever; his observations on the world as sharp.
John Grant first came to public attention as the lead singer with alternative ’90s rockers, The Czars. After they split in 2004, he took six years off to deal with his addictions to sex, drugs and alcohol before the release of 2010’s critically adored Queen Of Denmark solo album.
2013’s Pale Green Ghosts and 2015’s Grey Tickles, Black Pressure followed, each acclaimed as works of genius, attracting a growing mainstream appreciation.
Alongside his solo albums, John has found time to sing with Goldrapp and Kylie Minogue, co-write songs for Robbie Williams, Asgeir, Hercules & Love Affair and even the Eurovision Song Contest. He has toured with the band Elbow and his compositions featured in Andrew Haigh’s classic gay film, Weekend, Daisy Asquith’s Queerama and HBO’s queer series, Looking.
In 2016 he fronted the BBC’s Reimagining The City, taking listeners on a personal tour around the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik, where he has lived since 2012. A year later he curated North Atlantic Flux: Sounds From Smoky Bay In Hull, showcasing new and innovative musicians from Scandinavia and Iceland. He’s also working on his autobiography, which is bound to be as frank and forthright as his music.
Yet, these accomplishments only tell part of the John Grant story. As his devotees know well, John has been open about his HIV+ diagnosis and his not-so-sober past, topics well documented on his albums.
Love Is Magic finds him revisiting some of these topics, remaining outspoken on global politics (guess who Smug Cunt is about?), and, as the title suggests, enjoying a loving relationship. DNA: Love Is Magic has garnered five-star reviews, but some reviewers are much less impressed. Is this the John Grant album you either love or hate?
John Grant: It seems like it. I’d prefer people to love it, of course, but you do your head in if you think about it too much. You just have to go in and do your thing, have fun and then it goes out into the world after that.
There’s a killer line in Metamorphosis – “how long have you been clean?” – that will resonate with many on a number of levels.
I don’t know if I was thinking about HIV or addiction but I guess you could throw that in there. [Laughs.] Part of it is a state-of-the-nation rant but mostly it’s just… all sorts of speech that’s thrown at you every day from billboards, phones and television as well as what’s going on in your own mind.
Smug Cunt must be a contender for song title of the year!
I just think it’s an appropriate reaction to the US government right now and the type of person that supports it.
You also throw in a personal observation about “your obsession with your chest hair”. That’s a reaction to the absurdity of severe narcissism.
Who is talking at the beginning of the track The Common Snipe?
That’s the father of a friend of mine reading
poetry about the common snipe [a small, brownish bird native to much of Northern Europe] off the top of his head. At the end of the song my friend reads a scientific description, in Icelandic, of the sound that the snipe makes. This’s not your average pop song, but you’re probably not too worried about that.
I never think about making a pop song – just whatever comes into my head and what sounds good to me.
There are echoes of Kraftwerk, Giorgio Moroder and even a little Robyn on your album. Is that a fair appraisal?
No, I wouldn’t have been thinking of Robyn, although I have listened to. I’m much more influenced by older things.
The final song on the album, Touch And Go, is about Wikileaks trans-activist Chelsea Manning. That’s a tough subject to tackle.
I was thinking about her story, about the people who have accused her, about what it might be like to go through that transition. Some people are disgusted by that but have no idea what the person is going through. I’m impressed by people who have survived horrible ordeals. The positive title of Love Is Magic sounds like you’re in a good place right now. Last time you spoke to DNA you’d just coupled-up.
Yeah, I’m in a good place. The world’s going to hell in a basket and I’m just fine. [Laughs.] I enjoyed making this record and now I’m back into getting out there and doing the songs live. That’s a whole different ball game.
Do you worry fans might have expected a different record from you?
I don’t think about that too much. There’s no accounting for taste and I’m not making records to please a specific group of people because if you do that you’re always going to fail. If I made Queen Of Denmark again people would make fun of that as well. You need to mix it up a bit otherwise you’re doing the same thing over and over. Hopefully people will stick with you. It’s definitely very me and I love that.
The Trump Presidency – can we assume this is one of the issues that’s troubling you at present in the world?
Generally, it’s this resurgence of the politics of hatred that has come out into the open and been embraced by so many people. It’s not something I want to necessarily be involved in, but one has a reaction to it. In your art you can react however you want. I would like to be involved in supporting people who are having a difficult time. I find it very hard to be compassionate when it comes to people having put Trump in office simply out of spite because they hate Obama so much. That seems really disgusting to me.
Isn’t there the saying, “compassion for all, or none at all”?
[With a sigh of resignation.] Resentment is a deadly thing, for sure.
You’re American but have been based in Iceland for a long time now. Is there a lively LGBT scene in Reykjavik?
On LGBT rights: “There are a lot of people coming out of the woodwork who still hate us.”
You can definitely walk down the street holding your partner’s hand in Iceland and nobody cares. They do a really good Pride parade in August, which seems like everybody takes part – families, everyone, literally the whole country, which is really cool. That’s something I hadn’t experienced before.
There’s quite a gay music moment happening – Sam Smith, Troye Sivan, Frank Ocean and others. Do you feel you’re a part of that?
I don’t feel different or feel the need to do duets with Ariana Grande. [Laughs.] Although she does have a fantastic voice. I am happy doing my own thing. I feel like we are all doing our own thing.
What do you listen to at home?
At home, a lot of time, I’m just resting from being out in the world. I’m always buying new music. I listen to a lot of film scores like Ennio Morricone and Devo. I have one of these things where you can put 5,000 CDs on the thing and then mix it up. You don’t know what’s coming next – it could be anything from Olivia Newton-John’s first album to Fad Gadget [kooky industrial electro-pop pioneer from the ’80s] and everything in between. I love all sorts of different things.
Where do you think the LGBTIQ community is at in terms of civil rights?
A lot has been achieved and we’re in a good place – but there are a lot of people coming out of the woodwork that still hate us as well.
How should we react to that?
We have to keep reminding these people that just because they slipped out of their mother’s vagina into a privileged position doesn’t mean that they own the place or that they built it. We have to reiterate that our lives and what we do in private is none of their fucking business. There’s this whole thing… how gay people feel they have to work hard to prove something because other people have always said, “Oh, you’re not natural!”, “You shouldn’t be doing that!” or “That isn’t traditional so that can’t be done!” It doesn’t matter what it is, it’s just none of your business. We shouldn’t have to prove anything to anybody. I have no intention of trying to prove anything to anybody either. [Laughs.]
You just want to enjoy your life, right?
Right. You just want to enjoy your life but when people are saying, “Faggots should die!” you’re forced to deal with these issues, like whether you deserve to be alongside other humans or not. It’s sad that it is the way it is.
Any final words for the readers of DNA? Thanks for your support. I love you, go out there and be yourself, and if people don’t like that, then fuck ’em. [Laughs.]
Love Is Magic is available on all music services. For more on John Grant go to johngrantmusic.com