The Crying Light
The Crying Light is Antony and the Johnsons' third studio album and the follow-up to the band's widely acclaimed second record, I Am a Bird Now. It was released on January 19, 2009, and preceded by the single "Another World", issued through Secretly Canadian on October 7, 2008. The album peaked in the European [Top 100 Albums|Billboard European Top 100] at No. 1.
The Crying Light features orchestral arrangements by Anohni and Nico Muhly. Anohni has described its theme as being "about landscape and the future".
Ann Powers wrote of The Crying Light for the LA Times online, "It's the most personal environmentalist statement possible, making an unforeseen connection between queer culture's identity politics and the green movement. As music, it's simply exquisite – more controlled and considered than anything Antony and the Johnsons have done and sure to linger in the minds of listeners."
Tours
In anticipation of The Crying Light, Antony and the Johnsons scheduled seven symphony concerts in 2008, including at the Barbican with the London Symphony Orchestra and at Disney Hall with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. These concerts were conducted by Jim Holmes and Rob Moose, with scores arranged by Nico Muhly.Antony and the Johnsons toured throughout North America and Europe in support of the album between February and June 2009.
Anohni went on to present a unique staging of The Crying Light in collaboration with the Manchester Camerata at the Manchester Opera House for the 2009 Manchester International Festival. The concert hall was transformed into a crystal cave constructed by Carl Robertshaw and filled with laser effects created by installation artist Chris Levine in collaboration with lighting designer Paul Normandale.
Artwork
The album's cover artwork features a 1977 photograph of butoh dancer Kazuo Ohno, by Naoya Ikegami. Anohni said of the image: "The Crying Light is dedicated to the great dancer Kazuo Ohno. In performance I watched him cast a circle of light upon the stage, and step into that circle, and reveal the dreams and reveries of his heart. He seemed to dance in the eye of something mysterious and creative; with every gesture he embodied the child and the feminine divine. He's kind of like my art parent."A music video for the single "Epilepsy Is Dancing" was produced by the Wachowskis and featured Johanna Constantine, choreographer Sean Dorsey, and the design of painters Tino Rodríguez and Virgo Paraiso.