Essential Listening: Synthpop Christian, Christopher Anton! Reach Out And Touch Faith!
For the entire month of June I am “paying it forward” to a handful of creatives that I believe truly deserve some recognition. I’ve covered a lot of different acts, primarily rock artists, and one awesome country band. Now it’s time to get your feet moving with some hard hitting dance beats! Bringing this week of musically themed celebrations to a close, I felt that it would feel good to end on an upbeat and inspirational note. Christopher Anton is a success story in the best way, not only is he able to say that he has successfully pursued his dream of creating great music, but he is also a saved Christian that has overcome a destructive lifestyle that included alcohol abuse. Now a voice of positivity, Christopher Anton uses his faith to write and perform fantastic music with a great message.
Who is Christopher Anton: Christopher Anton is a singer/songwriter who specializes in synthpop and dance music. Getting his start when he founded the band Pseudocipher, he recorded under that band name from 1998 through 2003. Through Pseudocipher, he got an opportunity to tour with acts like Berlin, Real Life, Daniel Ash, and Anything Box. In 2003 he auditioned and was selected to be the frontman for a Depeche Mode tribute band named 101. In 2006, Anton was selected to become the lead vocalist for the band Information Society. In his time with Information Society he aided them in recording in a variety of new music from 2006-2008. Anton has since embarked on a solo career and has found success in the dance/club mix music scene. He actively records new music and plays a variety of live show with his band “the Joneses”, featuring his wife, who is a talented performer in her own right: Donna Jean (she’s the lovely lady in all of the music videos). Christopher Anton is also a saved Christian with a tremendously endearing story. Here is his testimony:
Why You Should Be Listening to Christopher Anton: There is a glimmer of hope in the music that Christopher Anton performs, and it’s a quality that is rare in independently produced music these days. Top 40 music tends to be positive, because that’s what the executives believe sell albums, but they tend to feel hollow and manufactured on an assembly line. A lot of indie music, especially in the dance scene, tends to be overly dark or unnecessarily crass or sexual in nature. With Christopher Anton’s music, you are taken on a trip that is rooted in grounded emotions of acceptance, love, redemption, and hope. Also, the synth based music is quite good and his vocals are hauntingly reminiscent of Dave Gahan and Morrissey. Christopher Anton and the Joneses perform a variety of dance and rock style cuts, from covers of popular 80s and 90s dance hits, to a broad catalog of original songs.
What Has Christopher Anton Been Up To Lately: Christopher Anton has been a busy recording artist over the last few years. In 2010, Anton released his first full length solo album “Destination: X”. The LP was a love letter to the 90’s style dance and synth pop music that Anton had grown up loving, and was similar in style to the music that he had been performing with Information Society and 101.
In 2012, Anton released the EP “Spaceships and Dreamers”, which was the 1st release in a planned trilogy. In describing the motivation behind recording “Spaceships and Dreamers”, Anton said that he wanted to write “songs about choosing to look for the positive in everything.” Since then, Anton has released an EP for “In Silence”, and a selection of singles including: “Calling Love”, “Connected”, “We Are the Free”, and a cover of Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus”. Later this year, Christopher Anton and the Joneses are slated to release a self titled debut album, keep an eye on their website for more information: christopheranton.org.
How You Can Support Christopher Anton: Buy his music! All of Christopher Anton’s music catalog is available digitally at both his main webpage, bandcamp page, and iTunes. You can also listen to his music via Spotify, Pandora, and Apple Music. On top of that, you can head to his official website, christopheranton.org, for more information about his music, news, bios, personal blog, testimony, music videos, and more. Christopher Anton and the Joneses are actively recording new music right now, and they are also on tour as well. You can check out more info about locations and dates here. Christopher Anton can also be followed on these social media outlets: Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, Google+, and YouTube.
Rody Hillman, Christopher Anton, Donna Jean, and Jayden Frost at the Electric Dreams concert this year
I leave you with a fun little trip down the rabbit hole, back from 2007, to Information Society’s official video for “I Like The Way You Werk It”, featuring Christopher Anton on lead vocals:
