Keaton Henson

English musician and artist
The basics

Quick Facts

IntroEnglish musician and artist
PlacesUnited Kingdom Great Britain England
isMusician Poet Singer Composer
Work fieldLiterature Music
Gender
Male
Birth24 March 1988, London, Greater London, London, England
Age36 years
Star signAries
The details

Biography

Keaton Henson (born 24 March 1988) is an English folk rock musician, visual artist and poet from London.

Henson has released six studio albums (one released under the name 'Behaving'). He has also released a wordless graphic novel called "Gloaming", published by Pocko, which is "essentially a field guide to a spirit world beyond our reality" and a book of poetry called "Idiot Verse". Henson suffers from anxiety and, as a result, rarely plays concerts.

History

Early life and career beginnings (1988–2012)

Keaton Henson was born in 1988 in London, England. He is the son of actor Nicky Henson and ballet dancer Marguerite Porter.

Henson began his career as an illustrator. He designed the artwork for various albums including Dananananaykroyd's Hey Everyone! and Enter Shikari's Take to the Skies. Henson 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, and was encouraged to put music online. In November 2010 his debut album Dear... was released on Motive Sounds Recordings, in a self-made limited edition. In 2011 he released a single, "Metaphors", on Porchlight Records. He also recorded "Don't Be Afraid" for the Tormented soundtrack.

Henson's musical breakthrough came when Zane Lowe played "You Don't Know How Lucky You Are" on BBC Radio 1 for the first time on September 7 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". The play received a rapturous reaction from listeners.

Henson formed his own record company, Oak Ten Records, and officially re-released his debut album Dear... in 2012. The album was critically acclaimed: the BBC reported "Keaton Henson isn't a show-off, but with talent like this, he has every right to be". On Metacritic the album received a score of 70 out of 100. Dear... didn't enter the charts but from it three singles were released– "Charon", "Small Hands" and "You Don't Know How Lucky You Are" – all of which were accompanied by music videos. The video for "Charon" was shortlisted for a UK MVA award in Best Budget Indie/Rock Category. "Small Hands" won Best Music Video at the Rushes Soho Shorts Film Festival in 2012.

In July 2012 Henson released The Lucky EP. In November 2012, Henson designed a t-shirt for the Yellow Bird Project to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Birthdays and further projects (2013–present)

Henson wrote and recorded his second album in less than a year. He travelled to California to record the album and worked with American producer Joe Chiccarelli. In February 2013 he released Birthdays. The BBC said of the album: "Up there, warmed by the fire, he's cloistered away from Twitter and all the other evils of this parish. There's no better way to shut out the din than by putting this record on". 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 spawned three singles: "Lying to You", "Sweetheart, What Have You Done To Us", and "You" (released as a limited edition 7" single for Record Store Day with an etching by Henson on the b-side). The album was also released as a limited book edition, featuring illustrations made by different artists accompanying the songs.

In 2012 and 2013, Henson performed sporadically, usually in tiny venues, galleries or museums. His art show "Hithermost" took place at the Pertwee, Anderson & Gold gallery in London in January 2013 and "sold quickly". In August 2013 NPR Music published a live "Tiny Desk Concert" on their website and on YouTube with the set list "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 Henson performed at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London as part of the James Lavelle-curated Meltdown festival. On the day of the concert, Henson released an unannounced new album, Romantic Works, featuring cellist Ren Ford. It was initially streamed exclusively on The Guardian website and later on Spotify.

In early 2015 Henson composed a score for Young Men, a dance project from BalletBoyz which was performed at the Sadler's Wells Theatre in London as a co-production with 14-18 NOW. Henson's first three albums were re-pressed on vinyl with bonus tracks in June 2015.

In October 2015 Henson released an album as a side project, Behaving. The album was more electronic sounding than his previous releases and was first streamed on Soundcloud and iTunes. The same month also saw the release of Henson's debut poetry collection, Idiot Verse.

Henson's music has featured in the BBC Three zombie drama In the Flesh (2013-2014), Derek, Elementary, "Blacklist" (TV series) and in the film X+Y (2014).

Discography

YearTitle
2010/2012Dear...
  • Released: 2010; 2 April 2012
  • Format: CD, LP and digital download
2013Birthdays
  • Released: 25 February 2013
  • Format: CD, LP and digital download
2014Romantic Works featuring Ren Ford
  • Released: 16 June 2014
  • Format: CD, limited LP and digital download
2015Behaving (as Behaving)
  • Released: 7 October 2015
  • Format: Digital download
20155 Years
  • Released: 12 November 2015
  • Format: Limited CD
2016Kindly Now
  • Released: 16 September 2016
  • Format: CD, LP and digital download

Concerts & Tours

YearLocationTitle
12/12/2011Maida Vale Studios, London, EnglandFestive Festival
04/10/2012The Cinema Museum, London, UKThe Cinema Museum
07/02/2013The Jeffrey Room at the Mitchell Library, Glasgow, UKMuseum Tour 2013
01/02/2013Preston Park Museum, Stockton-on-Tees, UKMuseum Tour 2013
14/02/2013Manchester Museum, Manchester, EnglandMuseum Tour 2013
18/02/2013Freud Museum, London, EnglandMuseum Tour 2013
28/02/2013History of Science Museum, Oxford, EnglandMuseum Tour 2013
01/03/2013History of Science Museum, Oxford, EnglandMuseum Tour 2013
08/03/2013Booth Museum Of Natural History, Brighton, UKMuseum Tour 2013
08/04/2013Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, New York, NY, USAHousing Works Bookstore Cafe
11/04/2013Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever, Los Angeles, CA, USAMasonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever
12/09/2013Emmanuel Centre, London, EnglandEmmanuel Centre
11/10/2013The Methodist Church of Echo Park, Los Angeles, CA, USAThe Methodist Church
19/10/2013St Bartholomew's Church, Brighton, EnglandSt Bartholomew's Church
29/10/2013St Andrew's in the Square, Glasgow, UKSt Andrew's in the Square
05/11/2013Église Saint-Eustache, Paris, FranceLes Inrocks Festival 2013
07/11/2013Geertekerk, Utrecht, NetherlandsGeertekerk
11/11/2013Town Hall, Manchester, EnglandTown Hall
16/05/2014Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, UKQueen Elizabeth Hall
11/05/2015Royal Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, NetherlandsHolland Festival 2015
15/08/2015National Concert Hall, Dublin, IrelandNational Concert Hall
27/11/2015Church of the Resurrection, Katowice, PolandXXIV Festival Ars Cameralis
04/02/2016Roundhouse, London, UKRoundhouse
23/10/2016Café de la Danse, Paris, FranceCafé de la Danse
26/10/2016Passionskirche, Berlin, GermanyPassionskirche
01/11/2016Royal Theatre Carré (Koninklijk Theater Carré), Amsterdam, NetherlandsRoyal Theatre Carré
18/11/2016London Palladium, London, UKLondon Palladium
14/01/2017Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever, Los Angeles, CA, USAMasonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever
17/01/2017The Great Hall, Toronto, CanadaThe Great Hall
30/01/2017Konzerthaus, Vienna, AustriaKonzerthaus
11/02/2017Olympia Theatre, Dublin, IrelandOlympia Theatre
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