A musician of incredible velocity, Hawksley Workman is at the top of his game when he has the solitude and serenity to write and record his music in atomic bursts, focused into monastic postures, accessing grace and brilliance in fluid, sweeping motions. With his increasing rock triumphs, growing fan communities and formidable body mass, Workman has evolved from the slight, pin-striped oddball with a critically-acclaimed diamond voice, to the panoramic, guitar-punishing superstar with no performance limits.
After the success of 2003's Lover/Fighter, the adoring battlefield was cleared and swords were beaten into plowshares. Hawksley Workman grew up in rural Ontario and began music as a drummer, going on to become a dizzying multiinstrumentalist who plays and sings virtually every part on his records.
Spotted early in his career for writing personal letters in weekly magazines to his fictional muse Isadora. These and other writings were compiled in his first book, Hawksley Burns For Isadora (Gutter Press, 2001).
He has worked as a producer for such artists as Sarah Slean, Jeen O'Brien, John Southworth and Tegan & Sara. More recently, he has produced Jeremy Fisher, Great Big Sea, and is about to get started on the new Hey Rosetta album.
He moved to Paris for a year after the release of his 2nd CD release, (Last Night We Were) The Delicious Wolves. Has been returning to France regularly since, also collaborating there with megastar Johnny Hallyday, techno artist Tommy Hools and indie upstarts Aston Villa.
Hawksley Workman garnered Juno awards in 2002 for Best New Solo Artist and Best Video for "Jealous Of Your Cigarette".
He has toured Europe with such luminaries as David Bowie, Patti Smith, New Order, The Cure, Marianne Faithfull and Noir Désir.
During the last World Cup, his rendition of The Beatles' "Revolution" provided the soundtrack for a television commercial, featuring French soccer star, Zinedine Zidane. He contributed to the film and soundtrack for Stormy Weather: The Music of Harold Arlen, providing his take on "I've Got the World On a String". Portrayed a ghost in the film, Youkali Hotel, starring Mary-Margaret O'Hara. Hawksley Workman owns a century-old, one-room schoolhouse his grandmother attended as a child, which now serves as a home and recording studio.
