Sohn (musician)

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Sohn
black-and-white image of Sohn wearing dark clothing, a tuque, and dark sunglasses, standing and operating a control board onstage
SOHN performing in 2014
Background information
Birth nameChristopher Michael Taylor
Born27 August
London, England
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
Years active2012–present
Labels
Websitesohnmusic.com

Christopher Michael Taylor,[1] professionally known as Sohn (stylised as SOHN), is an English singer, songwriter and record producer.[2] Following the release of the 2012 EP The Wheel by Aesop, he was signed by 4AD.[3] He released his first album, Tremors, on 7 April 2014 followed by Rennen in January 2017[4][5] and Trust in November 2022.

Career[edit]

Taylor was born in South London and developed an early interest in music.[6] After four albums, he dissolved his successful project Trouble Over Tokyo and reinvented himself as Sohn. In August 2010, he released the first two songs, "Warnings" and "Oscillate", under the Sohn name through his Soundcloud page. A month later, his first EP was announced by the London-based Aesop label.[7] The songs "The Wheel" and "Red Lines" were also streamed online, picking up critical acclaim.[8] The EP The Wheel was released on 5 November 2012 in both digital and vinyl formats.[9] Taylor had been living in Vienna, Austria since 2007.

On 19 April 2013, 4AD announced that it had signed Sohn.[10] This coincided with his first official release through 4AD, "Bloodflows", which Pitchfork described as "a vocal showcase and SOHN's most sorrowful, powerful success yet".[11] and GorillaVsBear mentioned as "simple but mesmerizing and extremely effective video".[12] The single peaked at number one in the Amazing Radio chart on 12 May.[citation needed]

On 11 September 2013, the follow-up track, "Lessons", was published online.[13] Released on limited 12" vinyl on 25 November 2013, the accompanying video was directed by Olivier Groulx and premiered by Dazed & Confused magazine.[14]

Sohn's first album, Tremors, was released in the week of 7 April 2014, with the lead single being "Artifice".[6]

In 2015, Taylor moved to Los Angeles where he worked as a producer for Aquilo, Banks and Kwabs,[15] before moving to Sonoma where he began work on his second album.[16]

In 2015, Taylor released the song "Carry Me Home" as part of the Insurgent soundtrack. The song is played over the ending credits.[citation needed]

In August 2016, the single "Signal" was made available through streaming platforms.[17] It was supported by a video featuring the actress Milla Jovovich.[18] Sohn released a lyric music video of his second single titled "Conrad" on 8 November 2016.[19] The album Rennen was released on 13 January 2017.[5] The tour in support features a live drummer and the vocalist Nylo.[20]

June 2020 saw the release of Sohn's live album, Live with the Metropole Orkest, recorded as a one-off performance in Amsterdam in 2019 with the 54-person-strong Metropole Orkest and conductor Hans Ek.[21]

On 11 May 2022, the single "Figureskating, Neusiedlersee" was released.[22] Sohn issued a second single, titled "Segre", on 13 July 2022.[23][24] His third studio album, Trust, was released digitally on 2 September 2022 and physically on 4 November 2022.[25]

Personal life[edit]

Taylor is married with three children.[26]

Discography[edit]

Studio albums[edit]

Title Album details Peak chart positions
UK
[27]
AUS
[28]
AUT
[29]
BEL
(FL)

[30]
BEL
(WA)

[31]
FRA
[32]
GER
[33]
IRE
[34]
NL
[35]
SWI
[36]
Tremors 31 60 12 20 75 83 64 83 42 23
Rennen
  • Released: 13 January 2017
  • Label: 4AD
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download
96 9 21 107 162 26 56 22
Trust
  • Released: 2 September 2022
  • Label: 4AD
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Live albums[edit]

Title Album details
Live with the Metropole Orkest

EPs[edit]

Title Extended play details
The Wheel
  • Released: 5 November 2012[37]
  • Label: Aesop
  • Formats: 12", digital download

Singles[edit]

  • "Bloodflows" (2013)
  • "Lessons" (2013)
  • "Artifice" (2014)
  • "The Chase" (2014)
  • "Signal" (2016)
  • "Conrad" (2016)
  • "Rennen" (2016)
  • "Hard Liquor" (2017)
  • "Hue/Nil" (2018)
  • "Unfold" (2018) (with Olafur Arnalds)
  • "Figureskating, Neusiedlersee" (2022)
  • "Segre" (2022)

Writing and production credits[edit]

Title Year Artist Album Credits Written with: Produced with:
"Wrong or Right" 2014 Kwabs Love + War Co-writer/Producer Kwabena Adjepong -
"Alibi" Banks Goddess Jillian Banks -
"Waiting Game" Jillian Banks -
"Everything" 2015 Aqualung 10 Futures Co-writer Matthew Hales, Nicholas Ruth -
"My Own" Kwabs Love + War Co-writer/Producer Kwabena Adjepong -
"Look Over Your Shoulder" Kwabena Adjepong -
"Human" Aquilo Silhouettes Thomas Higham, Benjamin Fletcher Aquilo
"Waiting" Co-writer Thomas Higham, Benjamin Fletcher -
"Gemini Feed" 2016 Banks The Altar Co-writer/Producer Jillian Banks Chris Spilfogel
"Lovesick" Additional producer - Tim Anderson
"Mind Games" Co-writer/Producer Jillian Banks, Timothy Anderson Tim Anderson
"This Is Not About Us" Jillian Banks, Dacoury Natche DJ Dahi
"To the Hilt" Jillian Banks -
"27 Hours" Jillian Banks, Ahmed Balshe, Daniel Schofield, Benjamin Diehl, Richard Munoz, Faris Al-Majed, Timothy Anderson Tim Anderson, DannyBoyStyles, Ben Billions
"Human" 2017 Aquilo Silhouettes Thomas Higham, Benjamin Fletcher Aquilo
"Waiting" Co-writer Thomas Higham, Benjamin Fletcher -
"Pathetic" Erik Hassle Innocence Lost Co-writer/Producer Kaj Hassle, Nicholas Ruth Nick Ruth
"Diviner" 2019 Hayden Thorpe Diviner Co-writer Hayden Thorpe -
"Till Now" Banks III Co-writer/Additional producer Jillian Banks, Jasmine Tadjiky, Brandon John Burton BJ Burton, Aaron Forbes
"Godless" Co-producer - BJ Burton, Jesse Ward, Aaron Forbes

Remixes[edit]

Title Year Artist
"Ride"[38] 2012 Lana Del Rey
"Mecca"[39] 2014 Wild Beasts
"Where You Belong"[40] 2015 The Weeknd
"Gone Are the Days"[41] 2016 Honne

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Songwriter/Composer: Taylor Christopher Michael". BMI. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  2. ^ Harriet Gibsone, "Sohn: Tremors review", The Guardian, 3 April 2014.
  3. ^ "SOHN Signs to 4AD", Dummy, 19 April 2013.
  4. ^ Milton, Jamie (7 April 2014). "SOHN: 'I Want To Be Able To Say Less And Mean More'". DIY. No. 54. pp. 15–19. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  5. ^ a b Aroesti, Rachel (12 January 2017). "Sohn: Rennen review – affected modern blues with some intriguing touches". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  6. ^ a b Rubenstein, Holly (7 April 2014). "SOHN Is Now". Interview. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  7. ^ "S O H N – The Wheel". Aesop Label. 25 September 2012. Archived from the original on 18 June 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  8. ^ Lester, Paul (22 November 2012). "SOHN – New Band of the Day". TheGuardian.com.
    - "Dummy 'The Wheel'". Dummy.
    - "Abeano 'The Wheel'". Abeano. Archived from the original on 5 December 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  9. ^ "SOHN – The Wheel (vinyl)". Discogs. 5 November 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  10. ^ "SOHN Signs To 4AD". 4AD.
  11. ^ "Pitchfork Single Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 4 December 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  12. ^ "Video Premiere – SOHN Bloodflows", GorillaVsBear, 18 April 2013.
  13. ^ "Listen to 'Lessons' by SOHN", 4AD, 11 September 2013.
  14. ^ "SOHN 'Lessons' Premiere". Dazed & Confused. 25 October 2013.
  15. ^ Murray, Robin (17 January 2017). "In Conversation: SOHN". Clash. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
    - Samuels, Gabriel (26 January 2017). "Aquilo interview: heartbreak, hygge and why two is the magic number". The Independent. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  16. ^ Richards, Will (11 January 2017). "A new beginning: SOHN". DIY. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  17. ^ "SOHN is back - hear new single "Signal" now". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  18. ^ "SOHN – "Signal" Video (Feat. Milla Jovovich)". 7 September 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  19. ^ "SOHN releases second single "Conrad" from "Rennen" his upcoming album". Stereogum. 7 November 2016.
  20. ^ "SOHN on new album Rennen". The Skinny. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  21. ^ "The official website for independent record label 4AD". 4AD. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  22. ^ "SOHN Returns with First New Song in Four Years "Figureskating, Neusiedlersee"". thelineofbestfit.com. 11 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  23. ^ "Taken from my new album 'Trust' - coming Sept 2nd. Can't wait to share it with you!..." twitter.com. 13 July 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  24. ^ "SOHN announces new album, 'Trust'". readdork.com. 13 July 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  25. ^ "SOHN announces third album with new cut "Segre"". thelineofbestfit.com. 13 July 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  26. ^ Bonkowski, Annett (6 January 2017). "SOHN and his personal race to bliss". NBHAP. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  27. ^ "SOHN" (select "Albums" tab). Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  28. ^ Peak chart positions for albums in Australia:
  29. ^ "Discography SOHN". austriancharts.at (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  30. ^ "Discografie SOHN". Ultratop (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  31. ^ "Discographie SOHN". Ultratop (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  32. ^ "Discographie SOHN". lescharts.com. (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  33. ^ "Discographie von SOHN" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  34. ^ "Discography SOHN". irish-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  35. ^ "Discografie SOHN". dutchcharts.nl. (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  36. ^ "Discography SOHN". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  37. ^ Fitzmaurice, Larry (25 September 2012). ""The Wheel" by SOHN Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  38. ^ "Premiere: Lana Del Rey – "Ride (S O H N Remix)"". Pigeons and Planes. 8 November 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  39. ^ Breihan, Tom (9 July 2014). "Wild Beasts – "Mecca (SOHN Remix)"". Stereogum. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  40. ^ "Fifty Shades of Grey (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Remixed) by Various Artists". iTunes Store (US). 4 May 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  41. ^ Hunt, El (7 January 2016). "SOHN has remixed HONNE's 'Gone Are The Days'". DIY. Retrieved 11 February 2017.

External links[edit]