Between his hugely successful performance at Manchester International Festival and a flight back to Iceland, John Grant squeezed in a trip to UNITOM to sign copies of his book ‘On Language’ published by Rough Trade Books. It was great to welcome John into the store and to experience the post-gig buzz with him and his fans.
About On Language:
Curious about the soft-sounding wordplay of Icelandic rap, or the harsh square-edged vocals of German punk? Ever wondered how to construct a personality through language, or how Old Norse feels in your mouth? On Language takes the form of a conversation between artists as writer and poet Will Burns interviews John Grant about his life, his lyrics, and the power of words. The result is a fascinating reckoning with language’s miseries, ecstasies, and capabilities for both harm and healing.
“My music is me learning to be myself and I suppose that’s done with language”
“Types of verbs, you know, denoting wishes or hopes or doubts. And hypothesis and wonder and those types of things. It’s quite fascinating to me that you have the actual verb reflecting that […] that emotional state, it’s baked into the actual language, into the grammar.” - John Grant, On Language
We have a small amount of signed copies left which can be purchased in UNITOM or on our online store.
A huge thank you to John Grant for making the time to come to UNITOM, and to everyone who has bought On Language so far.
About John Grant:
John Grant is without question one of the most celebrated singer-songwriters of the past decade. His debut solo LP Queen Of Denmark was voted MOJO magazine's Best Album of 2010 and his profile has continued to rise ever since through a series of rapturously received releases that combine acutely melodic chamber-pop with darkly glittering dance music centred on synth-pop and disco. Against this brooding and inventive backdrop and channelled through his glorious dulcet baritone, Grant unleashed autobiographical laments and diatribes, as beautiful and intimate as they were caustic and savagely funny. 2013's Pale Green Ghosts helped earn him Attitude Magazine's Man of the Year award and, in what is perhaps his biggest accolade so far, an International Male Solo Artist nomination at the 2014 BRIT Awards. His most recent album, Boy From Michigan was released in Summer 2021 via Bella Union.
