Alex Cameron (musician)
Alex Cameron | |
---|---|
Born | circa 1990[1] Sydney, Australia |
Genres | Synth-pop, indie pop, electronica, indie rock, soft rock, heartland rock |
Occupation(s) | Musician, singer-songwriter |
Years active | 2006–present |
Labels | Secretly Canadian |
Associated acts | Seekae, Foxygen, The Killers, Angel Olsen, Kirin J Callinan, Jack Ladder, Holiday Sidewinder, Jimmy Barnes |
Alex Cameron (born circa 1990) is an Australian musician, singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Sydney, he is best known for his solo career, a high-concept act in which Cameron initially adopted the persona of a failed entertainer. He is also a member of the electronica act Seekae.[2] During live performances, Cameron is often joined by saxophonist and "business partner" Roy Molloy.
Cameron independently released his debut album, Jumping the Shark, for free on his website in 2013. After catching the attention of indie rock duo Foxygen at a concert in Paris, Cameron toured extensively with Mac DeMarco, Kevin Morby, Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Angel Olsen. In 2016, Secretly Canadian reissued the album to a wider audience and growing cult fanbase.
While promoting the album, Cameron struck up a friendship with The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers and co-wrote five tracks on the band's fifth studio album, Wonderful Wonderful. In 2017, Cameron released his second studio album, Forced Witness, featuring contributions from Molloy, Flowers, Olsen and Jonathan Rado.
Contents
1 Career
1.1 Jumping the Shark (2013-2016)
1.2 Forced Witness (2017-present)
2 Backing band
3 Personal life
4 Discography
5 References
Career
Jumping the Shark (2013-2016)
Regarding his adopted persona of that of a failed musician, Cameron notes, "I write about the outlier, the table-for-one guy, the guy whose life is a constellation of microscopic tragedies. Failure has been underexplored in music. My characters come from a place where ambition, crippling self-doubt and tragedy intersect."[3]
After releasing his debut album, Jumping the Shark, for free on his website, and physically through Siberia Records, Cameron attracted the attention of indie rock duo Foxygen while performing at David Lynch's Parisian club, Silencio.[3] While on tour with Kevin Morby, in April 2016, the label Secretly Canadian announced they had signed Cameron and would be re-releasing Jumping the Shark in August 2016. Upon the announcement, Cameron issued the following statement: "Its 2016 [sic], and its time for Alex Cameron. Entertainer. Showman. Shaman. Side by side with his business partner and saxophonist, Roy Molloy, the duo are a living and breathing story of success told through the internet; unedited, unscripted, and, up until now, to a dedicated audience of no one. Thanks to the good people at Secretly Canadian that is about to change."[4]
Forced Witness (2017-present)
In 2017, Cameron released his second studio album, Forced Witness, a departure from the mostly-electronic sound of his debut album, the album was produced by Foxygen's Jonathan Rado, and features a full-band production, including saxophonist Roy Molloy. That same year, Cameron co-wrote five tracks on The Killers' fifth studio album, Wonderful Wonderful, with frontman Brandon Flowers appearing on the closing track of Forced Witness, "Politics of Love".
The album's accompanying tour found Cameron fronting a full band - including his business partner Molloy and session musicians, keyboardist Holiday Sidewinder, guitarist Justin Nijssen - and supporting The Killers on their UK and US arena tour.
On September 26th, 2018, Cameron and Molloy hosted a 24-hour telethon via Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook Live with the express goal to "save the music industry and pad our pantry out by selling 1000 records in 24 hours", which they succeeded in doing.
Backing band
- Roy Molloy - saxophone, business partner (2013-present)
Holiday Sidewinder - keyboards, backing vocals (2017-present)
Justin Nijssen - electric guitar, bass guitar (2017-present)- Henri Lindström - drums, percussion (2017-present)
Jack Ladder - electric guitar (occasional appearances; 2017-present)
Personal life
Since July 2017, Cameron has dated English-American actress Jemima Kirke.[5]
Discography
Solo albums
Jumping the Shark (2013)
Forced Witness (2017)
with Seekae
The Sound of Trees Falling on People (2008)
+Dome (2011)
The Worry (2014)
References
^ Long, Jen (30 June 2017). "Alex Cameron talks about his emotional and sexual history". Talk The Line. Retrieved 23 April 2018..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ Phares, Heather. "Alex Cameron - Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
^ ab Todd, Bella (19 August 2016). "'Failure is underexplored in music': meet Alex Cameron, your new favourite loser". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
^ "Signing Announce: Alex Cameron Shares Video for "She's Mine"". []. 26 April 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
^ Corinne, Heller. "Girls Alum Jemima Kirke and Musician Alex Cameron Show PDA in NYC", E Online, New York, 5 July 2017. Retrieved on 28 March 2018.