Stephin Merritt

About Stephin Merritt

Stephin Merritt releases albums under the band names the Magnetic Fields, the 6ths, the Gothic Archies, and Future Bible Heroes. He has also composes original music and lyrics for films and theater, and is currently working on an album of songs to accompany Lemony Snicket's 'A Series of Unfortunate Events', entitled The Tragic Treasury: Songs from A Series of Unfortunate Events by The Gothic Archies (Nonesuch, release date Oct 10, 2006).

A theater music album, Showtunes, was released on Nonesuch in March, 2006. It is a compilation of three music theater pieces directed by Chen Shi-Zheng; The Orphan of Zhao, Peach Blossom Fan, and My Life As a Fairy Tale. Full scores from these shows are also available online.

Merritt has released two film soundtrack albums, one for the academy award nominated film Pieces of April (dir. Peter Hedges) and for the independent film Eban and Charley. His song "The Book of Love," was recently covered by Peter Gabriel, in the film "Shall We Dance."

As The Gothic Archies, Merritt has recorded incidental music for HarperCollins' audio books of A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, and for Neil Gaiman's children's book Coraline, which Merritt is also adapting into a stage musical.

Merritt's most recognized band is the Magnetic Fields, whose 1999 album 69 Love Songs garnered widespread critical and popular acclaim, including "best of" year-end lists in Spin, Rolling Stone, the New York Times,and most other major national newspapers and magazines. In 2002, the Magnetic Fields performed as part of Lincoln Center's 'American Songwriters' series, and at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's 'Next Wave of Song'. In April, 2004, The Magnetic Fields released their seventh album, i (Nonesuch Records), and toured extensively throughout America and Europe.

Additional information on Stephin Merritt and his work can be found at www.houseoftomorrow.com.