Alex G
Alex G | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Alexander Giannascoli |
Also known as | (Sandy) Alex G (2017–20) |
Born | Havertown, Pennsylvania | February 3, 1993
Genres | Indie rock, bedroom pop, Indie folk |
Occupation(s) |
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Instruments |
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Years active | 2010–present |
Labels |
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Associated acts | Frank Ocean, Emily Yacina |
Website | sandyalexg |
Alexander Giannascoli (born February 3, 1993), better known by his stage names Alex G or, formerly, (Sandy) Alex G,[1] is an American musician, producer, and singer-songwriter. He started his career with DIY self-releases on Bandcamp and began building up an audience with his label debut, DSU (2014), released on Orchid Tapes to critical acclaim from various publications. He later signed with Lucky Number, who reissued his earlier releases, Rules and Trick (2012). In 2015, he signed with Domino Recording Company and released his sixth studio album, Beach Music. He followed it in 2017 with Rocket, which received further acclaim and recognition. Giannascoli's eighth studio album, House of Sugar, was released in 2019.
Early life and career[]
Giannascoli was born in 1993 in Havertown, Pennsylvania.[2] At age 11, when his parents bought an Apple computer, he learned how to play his brother's guitar and began recording music.[3][4] While attending Haverford High School, Giannascoli made two albums that he shared with friends.[5] He experimented with different musical styles while making collaborative music, which included the "goth techno" he made with his sister, as well as the projects involving his high school band The Skin Cells, described as "pop rock that accidentally ended up being punk".[3] In 2011, Giannascoli enrolled at Temple University, where he studied English but eventually dropped out to pursue a musical career.[2][5]
After self-releasing various albums, EPs, and singles on Bandcamp from 2010–2012, Giannascoli's popularity spread through word of mouth, blogs, and reverence by other musicians.[6] The Fader called Giannascoli "the internet's secret best songwriter."[3] This led to Orchid Tapes signing Giannascoli to their roster, as well as the release of his label debut, DSU (2014),[3] which garnered acclaim from music critics.[7] Following the release of the album, Giannascoli went on tour throughout North America and Europe.[5] In November, DSU was released by Lucky Number in Europe on all formats with two new bonus tracks. The label later also reissued his two preceding releases, 2012's Rules and Trick.[8]
In 2015, Giannascoli signed with Domino Recording Company and released his debut with the label and sixth overall studio album, Beach Music, on October 9.[9] The following year, Giannascoli worked with Frank Ocean on his albums Endless and Blonde, providing guitars and arrangements for several songs.[10]
On March 2, 2017, Giannascoli announced that his second album with Domino, entitled Rocket, would be released on May 19 and shared the first two singles, "Bobby" and "Witch".[11][12] On April 4, Giannascoli announced the change of his stage name from Alex G to (Sandy) Alex G, with no further explanation, and shared another single from the album, "Proud".[13][14] The music publication Spin attributed the name change to a legal conflict with singer and YouTuber Alex Blue, who was operating at the time under the trademarked name "Alex G".[15] On choosing the name 'Sandy', Giannascoli said it "was the first thing [he] put on Bandcamp" and that he had "just used that ‘Sandy’ as a sort of [social media] tag" since then.[16] On May 4, he released two more singles, "Brick" and "Sportstar", before the release of the album. Rocket received further acclaim from music critics and appeared on multiple publications' year-end lists of the best albums of 2017.[17]
Giannascoli's eighth studio album, House of Sugar, was released on September 13, 2019. The album received positive reviews and placed 17th on Pitchfork's year-end best albums list.[18] In June 2020, he dropped "(Sandy)" from his stage name, returning to going by Alex G.[19]
Musical style[]
Giannascoli's music is often characterized as indie rock with a lo-fi or "bedroom pop" aesthetic due to him recording all of his music by himself in his home. He is frequently compared to singer-songwriter Elliott Smith, who is an influence of his. Other comparisons include Built to Spill and The Martinis.[3] The Philadelphia Inquirer praised him as "a particularly gifted melody writer" whose "fuzzy, sometimes distorted songs, which hark back to slightly askew 1990s bands such as Pavement, can't hide his skill as a pop craftsman and a constructor of elliptical narratives that call for repeated listening."[5] He stated that his creative process consists of him usually working alone in his room with his guitar and adding other instruments later. When asked about working in a professional recording studio, he replied, "I feel like I'm eventually going to have to do that, but I just don't want to. Because I don't know how to work all that stuff, and I don't want anyone else to have control. I just want to follow my own ideas, and I'm uncomfortable doing it any other way."[5]
Discography[]
Studio albums[]
Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |
---|---|---|---|
US Heat. [20] |
US Indie [21] | ||
Race |
|
— | — |
Winner |
|
— | — |
Rules | — | — | |
Trick | — | — | |
DSU |
|
— | — |
Beach Music |
|
9 | — |
Rocket |
|
7 | 23 |
House of Sugar |
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5 | 16 |
Live albums[]
Title | Details |
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Live at Third Man Records |
Extended plays[]
Title | Details |
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Easy |
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Paint |
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Split 7"[]
Title | Details |
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Alex G / R.L. Kelly Split |
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Singles[]
Title | Year | Album |
---|---|---|
"Sandy" | 2011 | non-album singles |
"Good" | ||
"Lucy" | 2013 | |
"Joy" | ||
"Hollow"[30] | 2014 | DSU |
"Harvey"[31] | ||
"Bug"[32] | 2015 | Beach Music |
"Salt"[33] | ||
"Kicker"[34] | ||
"Bobby"[11] | 2017 | Rocket |
"Witch"[11] | ||
"Proud"[13] | ||
"Brick"[17] | ||
"Sportstar"[17] | ||
"Gretel" | 2019 | House of Sugar |
"Hope" | ||
"Southern Sky" | ||
"Near" |
Credits[]
Title | Year | Artist | Album | Credit(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
"Always" & "Rebecca" | 2014 | Cold Foamers | All Cold Everything | Writing (2 songs); recording, producing |
"Possession (Full)" | 2016 | Julia Brown | An Abundance of Strawberries | Writing, recording (coda) |
"Wither" | Frank Ocean | Endless[35] | Guitars | |
"Slide On Me" | ||||
"Rushes" | ||||
"Higgs" | ||||
"Self Control" | Blonde[36] | Guitars, arrangement | ||
"White Ferrari" | ||||
"Leave the House" | 2018 | Porches | The House[37] | Backing vocals |
"Savage Good Boy" | 2021 | Japanese Breakfast | Jubilee[38] | Production, piano, synthesizers |
Music videos[]
Title | Year | Director(s) | Album | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
"After Ur Gone" | 2013 | Linnea Nugent | DSU | |
"Sorry" | 2014 | Sirus F. Gahan | ||
"Hollow" | John Vizzone | |||
"Harvey" | Colin Acchione | |||
"Bug" | 2015 | Micah Van Hove | Beach Music | |
"Kicker" | John Vizzone | |||
"Brite Boy" | Elliot Bech | |||
"Mud" | 2016 | Alex Giannascoli and Colin Acchione | ||
"Bobby" | 2017 | Colin Acchione | Rocket | |
"Gretel" | 2019 | Zev Magasis | House of Sugar | |
"Hope" | Puppet made by Madalyn Freeman | |||
"Southern Sky" | Elliot Bech |
Notes[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b Reissued and remastered by Lucky Number on March 23, 2015.[8]
References[]
- ^ https://www.stereogum.com/2087978/sandy-alex-g-name-change/news/. Missing or empty
|title=
(help) - ^ Jump up to: a b "(Sandy) Alex G | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e McDermott, Patrick (May 1, 2014). "Who is Alex G? Meet the Internet's Secret Best Songwriter". The Fader. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ "Where Is My Mind?: Alex G". The Deli Magazine. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e DeLuca, Dan (December 7, 2014). "Alex G: One-man band a Philly indie success". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ Feinberg, Hannah (April 8, 2014). "On Our Radar: Emerging Philly Musician Alex G." Philadelphia. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ "Alex G is sharing his hidden talents". Crack Magazine. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Alex G – Trick / Rules". luckynumbermusic.com. January 27, 2015. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ Spanos, Brittany (August 13, 2015). "Prolific Indie Singer Alex G Announces New Album, 'Beach Music'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ Strauss, Matthew (October 13, 2016). "Alex G Opens Up About Working With Frank Ocean". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Dandridge-lemco, Ben (March 2, 2017). "Listen To Two New Songs From Alex G's Upcoming Rocket Album". The Fader. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ Rettig, James (March 2, 2017). "Alex G – "Bobby" & "Witch"". Stereogum. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Dandridge-lemco, Ben (April 4, 2017). "Alex G Announces Name Change To (Sandy) Alex G, Shares New Single "Proud"". The Fader. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ Michelle, Kim (April 4, 2017). "Alex G Changes Name to (Sandy) Alex G". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ Arcand, Rob (May 19, 2017). "(Sandy) Alex G Is Indie Rock's Humble Star: "I'm Just Trying to Make Songs That Sound Good"". Spin. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
- ^ Arcand, Rob (May 19, 2017). "(Sandy) Alex G Is Indie Rock's Humble Star: "I'm Just Trying to Make Songs That Sound Good"". Spin. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Richards, Will (May 4, 2017). "(Sandy) Alex G Shares Two New Tracks And Announces Uk Tour". DIY. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2019". Pitchfork. CN Entertainment. December 10, 2019. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
- ^ DeVille, Chris (June 16, 2020). "Alex G Officially Drops The (Sandy)". Stereogum. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
- ^ "(Sandy) Alex G – Chart history: Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
- ^ "(Sandy) Alex G – Chart history: Independent Albums". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
- ^ "Race | Alex G". Bandcamp. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ "Winner | Alex G". Bandcamp. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ "Rules by (Sandy) Alex G on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ "Trick by (Sandy) Alex G on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ Minsker, Evan (June 4, 2019). "(Sandy) Alex G Announces New Album House of Sugar, Shares New Song: Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
- ^ "(Sandy) Alex G Live At Third Man Recordsvinyl at Juno Records". juno.co.uk. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ "Easy | Alex G". Bandcamp. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ "Paint | Alex G". Bandcamp. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ "Alex G – Hollow, Rough Trade, Manchester". Lucky Number. September 18, 2018. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ "Alex G – Harvey Video". Lucky Number. December 8, 2018. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ Joyce, Colin (August 27, 2015). "Alex G Provokes Young Love, Desolation in 'Bug' Video". Spin. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
- ^ "Alex G's Beach Music Out Today, Shares Video For 'kicker'". Domino. October 9, 2015. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ Joyce, Colin (September 21, 2015). "Alex G's 'Kicker' Calls Back to Indie Rock's Salad Days". Spin. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ "Here Are the Full Credits from Frank Ocean's 'Endless'". Noisey. August 19, 2016. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ "Here Are The Full Liner Notes To Frank Ocean's "Blonde"". Genius. December 12, 2016. Archived from the original on December 14, 2016. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ "The House - Porches | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ Jubilee (liner notes). Japanese Breakfast. Dead Oceans. 2021. DOC225.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
External links[]
- 1993 births
- Living people
- American indie rock musicians
- Musicians from Philadelphia
- People from Haverford Township, Pennsylvania
- Temple University alumni
- Domino Recording Company artists
- Third Man Records artists