Intuitive Music

Laurie Anderson

Born in Glen Ellyn, Ilinois in 1947, Laurie Anderson is one of the most original and innovative artists and communicators from the last decades.

Laurie Anderson started playing violin during his childhood in California and later played in the Chicago Youth Symphony. After graduating from Barnard College magna cum laude, he moved to New York, graduating in art history in 1969. She also studied sculpture at Columbia University and taught Egyptian architecture at City College.

By 1976, Laurie Anderson started doing performances in museums and art festivals and on the street throughout North America and Europe. In 1981, she released her first album “You’re the Guy I Want to Share My Money With” but her popularity didn’t come until a year later with the release of the album “Big Science” when she surprised the world with a very personal fusion of synth pop, avant-garde, minimalism and storytelling. The song “O Superman” rose to number two on the British pop charts.

Laurie Anderson has created numerous large-scale theatrical works combining multi-media, electronic music, storytelling, and sculpture featuring sharp and humorist observations on sociological and political aspects of the modern American culture. Laurie Anderson’s visual work has been shown at the Guggenheim Museum in SoHo, New York, and all around Europe, including the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.

Laurie Anderson’s most popular albums were released during the 80’s, including “Mister Heartbreak” (1984), the soundtrack of the concert film directed by herself “Home of the Brave” (1986), and “Strange Angels” (1989). She has also composed the soundtracks for the Spalding Gray films “Swimming to Cambodia” and “Monster in a Box” and did some voice-acting for the animated film “The Rugrats Movie” and in 1994 she released a CD-ROM entitled “Puppet Motel”.

A real multi-talented artist, Laurie Anderson has collaborated with numerous artists, including writer William Burroughs, Mitchell Froom, Peter Gabriel, Brian Eno, Perry Hoberman, David Sylvian, Jean Michel Jarre, and his husband Lou Reed.

Laurie Anderson went on tour in 2001, performing a selection of her classic pieces which was recorded in New York City a week after the September 11, 2001 attacks. The performance of “O Superman” contained lyrics that seemed to predict the events of the 9/11 with references to the planes. The concert was released in 2002 on CD under the title of “Live in New York”.

In 2003, Laurie Anderson became the first NASA’s artist-in-residence, getting inspired for her song “The End of the Moon”.