Mark Kozelek

Mark Edward Kozelek is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, record producer and occasional actor.

He is known as the vocalist and primary recording artist of the indie folk act Sun Kil Moon and founding member of the indie rock band Red House Painters, with whom he recorded six studio albums from 1988 until 2001.

From 1992 to 1996, Red House Painters released a series of acclaimed albums, showcasing Kozelek's intense, highly autobiographical songs.

In 1996, Kozelek recorded the band's fifth studio album, Songs for a Blue Guitar, mostly alone.

The updated edition spans to his current Sun Kil Moon days, and the book also includes a 12-track bonus CD titled Nights 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.

However, Kozelek's parting with the record label 4AD, followed by a major label merger which left Red House Painters' 1998 album Old Ramon on the shelf, proved highly frustrating and stifled the group's momentum.

In 2000, he released the solo EP Rock 'n' Roll Singer, which featured three original songs as well as covers of John Denver's "Around and Around" and three AC/DC songs ("Rock 'n' Roll Singer," "Bad Boy Boogie," and "You Ain't Got a Hold on Me").

Two of the AC/DC cover versions on Rock 'n' Roll Singer were radical re-arrangements of the originals which removed the Bon Scott-penned lyrics from their hard rock context and placed them into gentle, acoustic "folk ballad" settings.

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 of AC/DC cover songs.

Kozelek expanded on this idea in 2001, releasing a full-length album composed solely of AC/DC covers titled What's Next to the Moon.

The original edition of this book was released in 2002 in Portugal, and featured all the lyrics up to that point, printed in both English and Portuguese.

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.

Sun Kil Moon debuted with Ghosts of the Great Highway in 2003, and also features former RHP members Jerry Vessel and Anthony Koutsos as well as new collaborators Geoff Stanfield (formerly of Black Lab) and Tim Mooney of American Music Club.

Their follow-up effort appeared in 2005 on Kozelek's newly formed label, Caldo Verde Records.

Titled Tiny Cities, the album is made up entirely of covers of songs by Modest Mouse.

Once again, Kozelek's cover versions varied greatly from the originals.

In 2006, Kozelek was invited by Toronto indie rock label Paper Bag Records to exclusively contribute to their See You on the Moon! Songs for Kids of All Ages compilation with his original song "Leo and Luna."

Then in November 2006, Kozelek released a live album titled Little Drummer Boy Live.

Kozelek returned in 2008 with the release of Sun Kil Moon's third album April.

The album features 11 brand new recordings, including guest vocal contributions by Ben Gibbard, Will Oldham and Eric Pollard.

The release of the new album also brought the re-issue of Nights 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.

On December 9, 2008, Kozelek and Caldo Verde Records issued The Finally LP, a CD collection of 10 unreleased tracks, including covers of songs by Stephen Sondheim, Will Oldham, Hüsker Dü, and Low among others, as well as two previously unreleased instrumentals.

Two newly recorded live albums, Find Me, Ruben Olivares: Live in Spain and Lost Verses Live, followed in spring 2009.

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 later Perils from the Sea and Mark Kozelek & Desertshore, both released in 2013.

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.

The movie was filmed during portions Mark Kozelek's European/North American tours of 2010 and early 2011.

A documentary film titled Mark Kozelek: On Tour was released via Caldo Verde Records on August 16, 2011.

In 2014, Sun Kil Moon's sixth studio album, Benji, was released to widespread critical acclaim and increased exposure with its follow-up, Universal Themes, featuring lengthy compositions and stream-of-consciousness lyrics.

In a February 2014 interview with Seattle's The Stranger, Kozelek commented that he's "never heard from Modest Mouse" as to what they think of the record.

In 2016, Kozelek released a collaborative studio album with Jesu, titled Jesu/Sun Kil Moon.

Across his work in Sun Kil Moon, Red House Painters, and his own solo material, Kozelek has released thirty-one studio albums, with his most recent being All the Best, Isaac Hayes (2020).

A number of commentators have described him as one of the greatest songwriters of his generation.

Kozelek was born and raised in Massillon, Ohio.

In his teenage years, he led a band named God Forbid.

Upon relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, he met drummer Anthony Koutsos.

After the pair moved once again to San Francisco, California, Red House Painters formed with the addition of guitarist Gorden Mack and bassist Jerry Vessel.