Mark Kozelek

Mark Edward Kozelek(born January 24, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, record producer and occasional actor. He is the vocalist and primary recording artist of theindie folkactSun Kil Moonand was a founding member of theindie rockbandRed House Painters, with whom he recorded six studio albums from 1988 until 2001.
Upon meeting drummer Anthony Koutsos inAtlanta, Georgia, the pair moved toSan Francisco, Californiaand formed Red House Painters alongside guitarist Gorden Mack and bass guitarist Jerry Vessel. Signing with record label4AD,the band released four studio albums. In 1996, Kozelek recorded the band's fifth studio album,Songs for a Blue Guitar, mostly alone.The release of the band's final studio album,Old Ramon(2001), was delayed for three years. In the interim, Kozelek recorded both an album and an EP ofAC/DCcover songs.
Reconvening with Koutsos and Vessel, the trio continued performing under the new name of Sun Kil Moon, releasing their debut album,Ghosts of the Great Highway, in 2003. Inspired by classical guitar music, Kozelek recorded Sun Kil Moon's fourth studio album,Admiral Fell Promises(2010),as a solo act and continued to record mostly alone on its follow-up,Among the Leaves(2012), and laterPerils from the SeaandMark Kozelek & Desertshore, both released in 2013.In 2014, Sun Kil Moon's sixth studio album,Benji, was released to widespread critical acclaim,and increased exposure with its follow-up, 2015'sUniversal Themes,featuring lengthy compositions andstream-of-consciousnesslyrics.
Across his work in Sun Kil Moon, Red House Painters, and his own solo material, Kozelek has released 31 studio albums, with his most recent beingAll the Best, Isaac Hayes(2020).A number of commentators have described Kozelek as one of the greatest songwriters of his generation.
Kozelek was born on January 24, 1967 inMassillon, Ohio.In his teenage years, he led a band named God Forbid.Upon relocating toAtlanta, Georgia, he met drummer Anthony Koutsos. After the pair moved once again toSan Francisco,California,Red House Paintersformed with the addition of guitarist Gorden Mack and bassist Jerry Vessel.From 1992 to 1996, Red House Painters released a series of acclaimed albums, showcasing Kozelek's intense, highly autobiographical songs.
However, Kozelek's parting with the record label4AD, followed by a major label merger which left Red House Painters' 1998 albumOld Ramonon the shelf, proved highly frustrating and stifled the group's momentum.
In 2000, he released the solo EPRock 'n' Roll Singer, which featured three original songs as well as covers ofJohn Denver's "Around and Around" and threeAC/DCsongs ("Rock 'n' Roll Singer," "Bad Boy Boogie," and "You Ain't Got a Hold on Me"). Two of the AC/DC cover versions onRock 'n' Roll Singerwere radical re-arrangements of the originals which removed theBon Scott-penned lyrics from their hard rock context and placed them into gentle, acoustic "folk ballad" settings.
Kozelek expanded on this idea in 2001, releasing a full-length album composed solely of AC/DC covers titledWhat's Next to the Moon.
Sun Kil Moondebuted withGhosts of the Great Highwayin 2003, and also features former RHP members Jerry Vessel and Anthony Koutsos as well as new collaborators Geoff Stanfield (formerly ofBlack Lab) and Tim Mooney ofAmerican Music Club. Their follow-up effort appeared in 2005 on Kozelek's newly formed label,Caldo Verde Records. TitledTiny Cities, the album is made up entirely of covers of songs byModest Mouse. Once again, Kozelek's cover versions varied greatly from the originals. In a February 2014 interview with Seattle'sThe Stranger, Kozelek commented that he's "never heard from Modest Mouse" as to what they think of the record.
In 2006, Kozelek was invited by the Torontoindie rocklabelPaper Bag Recordsto exclusively contribute to theirSee You on the Moon! Songs for Kids of All Agescompilation with his original song "Leo and Luna". Then in November 2006, Kozelek released a live album titledLittle Drummer Boy Live.
Kozelek returned in 2008 with the release of Sun Kil Moon's third albumApril. The album features 11 brand new recordings, including guest vocal contributions byBen Gibbard, Will Oldham and Eric Pollard.
The release of the new album also brought the re-issue ofNights of Passed Over, a 256-page, hard-cover book of all the lyrics to Kozelek's solo songs, Red House Painters' songs, and Sun Kil Moon's songs. It also features setlists, handwritten lyrics, and a preface by Kozelek himself. The original edition of this book was released in 2002 inPortugal, and featured all the lyrics up to that point, printed in both English and Portuguese. The updated edition spans to his current Sun Kil Moon days, and the book also includes a 12-track bonus CD titledNights LP, featuring live and rare versions of songs dated 1996 to 2007. The edition is sold exclusively on his label's website and is limited to 2,500 copies.
On December 9, 2008, Kozelek and Caldo Verde Records issuedThe Finally LP, a CD collection of 10 unreleased tracks, including covers of songs byStephen Sondheim,Will Oldham,Hüsker Dü, andLowamong others, as well as two previously unreleased instrumentals. Two newly recorded live albums,Find Me, Ruben Olivares: Live in SpainandLost Verses Live, followed in spring 2009.
On April 23, 2010, the release of Sun Kil Moon's fourth album,Admiral Fell Promises, was announced. The album was released on July 13, 2010.
A documentary film titledMark Kozelek: On Tourwas released via Caldo Verde Records on August 16, 2011. The movie was filmed during portions Mark Kozelek's European/North American tours of 2010 and early 2011.
Sun Kil Moon's fifth album,Among the Leaves, was released on Caldo Verde Records on May 29, 2012.
Kozelek also contributed as a vocalist and bass player toDesertshore, a group featuringRed House Paintersguitarist Phil Carney, classically trained pianist Chris Connolly, and more recently Sun Kil Moon drummer Mike Stevens.His first collaboration with Desertshore came on the group's second studio album,Drawing Of Threes(released November 22, 2011,Caldo Verde Records). Kozelek appeared in 6 out of 10 tracks as a vocalist and bass player. He played a more major role in the third studio album titledMark Kozelek & Desertshore(released August 20, 2013, Caldo Verde Records), where he is featured as vocalist and bassist on all 10 tracks. In the same year, Kozelek releasedPerils From the Sea, a collaboration album with multi-instrumentalist Jimmy LaValle ofThe Album Leaf, and covers albumLike Rats.
In 2014, Sun Kil Moon releasedBenjito wide acclaim, garnering a score of 85 from the critical rating aggregate website,Metacritic.No Ripcordcalls it Kozelek's "most intimate work yet" andKitty EmpireofObserveradded, it "might well be this difficult artist's most direct work."Soundblab rated it the best album of 2014, stating "When I remember 2014 in music, there will be Sun Kil Moon'sBenjiand there will be everything else."Several publications praised Kozelek's songwriting skills and highlightedBenjias his best work to date.
On September 5, 2014, during a Sun Kil Moon performance atHopscotch Music FestivalinRaleigh, North Carolina, Kozelek called the noisy crowd "fucking hillbillies" and told them to "shut the fuck up" or else he would leave.He traded insults with the crowd before saying that his previous comments were meant as a joke.Allison Hussey ofIndy Weekfirst reported the incident, and linked to audio of Kozelek berating the audience.On September 9, 2014, Kozelek's label Caldo Verde began selling t-shirts with "All You Fuckin' Hillbillies Shut The Fuck Up" printed on the front.
On September 14, 2014, Sun Kil Moon performed at theOttawa Folk FestivalinOttawa, Canada, and their set overlapped with that of American rock bandThe War on Drugs. Kozelek complained of noise from The War on Drugs' set bleeding over to his stage and told the audience, "I hate that beer commercial lead-guitar shit". He introduced his next song as being titled "The War on Drugs Can Suck My Fucking Dick".On October 6, 2014, Sun Kil Moon released a song about the incident, "War on Drugs: Suck My Cock".The War on Drugs' lead singerAdam Granducielresponded by calling Kozelek a "douche", and Kozelek released a second song about the feud titled "Adam Granofsky Blues".
Sun Kil Moon's sixth album of original material,Universal Themes, was released on June 2, 2015.The album again featured drummerSteve Shelley, who previously played drums onBenjiand then released an album in 2017Common as Light and Love Are Red Valleys of Blood. Kozelek toured Europe, the United States, and South America in support of the album in 2017 and 2018. On May 11, 2018, Kozelek released an eponymously titleddouble CDalbum, which "was recorded in San Francisco hotels and studios between May 2017 and January 2018."
In 2016, Kozelek released a collaborative studio album withJesu, titledJesu/Sun Kil Moon.
In August 2022, he announced two concerts in Hungary and Slovenia after an almost two-year absence from live performance.
Kozelek has also dabbled in acting. Friend and directorCameron Crowecast him in his filmAlmost Famous(2000) as Larry Fellows (the bass player inStillwater) and inVanilla Sky(2001) as a clubgoer who mocksTom Cruise's character.In 2005, he appeared inSteve Martin's filmShopgirl, playing a musician who befriends and mentorsJason Schwartzman's character. Kozelek also performed "Lily and Parrots" (a Sun Kil Moon song) live in the film.
Kozelek appears as himself, and contributed to the soundtrack toPaolo Sorrentino's 2015 film,Youth.
In August 2020, in an article published byPitchfork, Kozelek was alleged to have engaged in sexual misconduct with a woman named Sarah Golden, as well as two other unidentified women.On August 17, Kozelek denied the allegations against him and stated that he has retained a law firm to "investigate and pursue as necessary any claims against anyone participating to defame me".
On March 25, 2021,Pitchforkpublished another article on seven more women who accused Kozelek of sexual misconduct. Several of these women alleged that, in separate incidents, Kozelek brought them back to a hotel room, promising them that the encounter would not be sexual, before later emerging from the bathroom unclothed or in underwear and then masturbating. He then allegedly groped some of these women despite repeated requests to stop, then repeatedly pressured them to have sexual intercourse with him until they either left or had sex with him.Pitchforkreported that Kozelek denied the allegations in a letter issued to them by his attorney.
Studio albums
EPs
Compilations
Live albums