BC Camplight

BC Camplight is the moniker of maverick songsmith Brian Christinzio. The Philadelphian turned Mancunian is considered one of indie music’s most forward-thinking artists with a discography which acts as a soundtrack to a life rife with bad fortune, mental illness, running afoul of the law, and ultimately absolute redemption. Whilst living in Philadelphia, Christinzio performed live with The War On Drugs in between releasing two critically successful yet commercially ignored records. He was also a coveted session pianist lending his talents to scores of albums, perhaps most notably Sharon Van Etten’s Epic. After a period of homelessness and running on fumes creatively, Christinzio made a move across the Atlantic to Manchester, UK in an effort take control of his life and reshuffle his musical deck. The result was the recording of 2015’s ode to Manchester and baroque pop tour de force How To Die In The North. The recordings resulted in a record deal with Bella Union and placed Christinzio on a path towards artistic fulfilment. However, a severe leg injury landed Christinzio in hospital where he was forced to remain whilst his UK work visa expired. Despite pleas to the Home Office to allow the ailing artist to apply for an extension a decision was made that would forever alter Brian personally and artistically. The day after his record was released Christinzio was deported from the UK and banned from returning. How To Die In The North was essentially shelved.

After 16 months of separation from the UK the resilient Christinzio was reunited with his beloved Manchester, gaining entry through newly acquired Italian citizenship. His most recent, and most lauded album Deportation Blues is an exhilarating dynamic document of calamity and stress, relayed through richly melodic arrangements spanning songwriter classicism, gnarled synth pop, 50’s filth-rock, and various odd junctions in between mirroring the creators fractured mindset. It is an immensely powerful diary chronicling an impossible set of life circumstances whilst shining a white-hot spotlight on the composer’s off-kilter brilliance. The album has since been revered by critics, become a stalwart on the BBC Radio 6 Music playlist (BBC 6 Music 2018 album of the year as voted by Marc Riley), and put BC Camplight back on the stage where he belongs. With a slew of tours and festivals on the horizon Christinzio, a remarkably relentless entertainer, will bring his immense new live show to the UK and Europe.

Christinzio released his latest album, The Last Rotation Of Earth, in May and has received an abundance of positive reviews since. Whilst making the album, the relationship with his fiancé crumbled after nine inseparable years. TLROE follows this break-up amid long-term struggles with addiction and mental health. The outcome is an extraordinary record, with Christinzio describing it as “more cinematic, sophisticated and nuanced than anything I’ve done before.” He goes on to describe how the separation altered his creative focus and caused him to “scrap 95% of what I’d already recorded”, finishing The Last Rotation Of Earth in two months and making what he believes is his most vital album. 

With that said, it’s true to say that Christinzio has made his best music under immense duress, and The Last Rotation Of Earth is an inimitable work; a heady, heavy slice of lustrous hooks, moods bursting with classical sophistication and fractured paranoia.